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#archon hessarian
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Andrastian Design: Stained Glasses
The Stained glasses of the Chantry that appear in DAI seem to narrate the main passages of the Chant of Light [for more details read Part 1 and Part 2]. I’m not so sure to relate them to Serault glasses, since the style is different.
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The interpretation of these glasses is done under the hypothesis that their design may hide in plain sight details or elements from ancient tales that were used to create the Chant of Light [for example, we can notice the presence of Elvhenan elements in it since the tale of the Maker has strong resemblance with the Elvhenan tale of Fen’Harel when it comes to seal entities that endanger The People]. This makes sense because this a game, where the devs may have given to us small hints to pick in the art that we may feel a bit odd if we keep only the Chant of Light as the only source of explanation for this iconography.
I’m also working on this post under the hypothesis that these images in the stained glasses are as old as the tale of Andraste, as if they had been created by local andrastian cults that the Chantry, once founded, embraced in order to keep all the different andrastian cults under a single institution or to attract other religions that would see their same or similar iconography in it.  Sadly, we were never informed the date of these stained glasses and their iconography to be sure about this hypothesis. 
[Index page of Dragon Age Lore]
The Magisters perform blood magic rituals and taint the Golden City
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The colour of this glass is predominantly green and red.
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At the top of the glass the Golden City is placed, with a small detail of sun rays on the central tower and apparently some cracks in its walls since it’s more fragmented than the black version below [this could also be the stained glass style though]. Around it there are several swirly patterns, and a double circle encloses everything as if it were protected by a barrier. This may represent the Barrier that isolates the Black City, where neither dreamers nor spirits can enter [more details in Murals in DAI: Basics].
Below, there are two small circles: one with the face of a man, the other, with a skull.
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In the middle of the image we see Magisters Sidereal, using sacrificial daggers that curiously looks like Swords of Mercy [not the one used by Fenris in DA2 but the one depicted in Chantry iconography and in the Female Kossith/ Desire demon /Tevinter Warrior]
The Magisters perform the sacrifice, and through blood magic, which includes their own blood, they manage to “spill” blood all around the Golden City turning it into black, and putting it upside-down with the exception of the red gate that remains in the same position. The Golden City loses its colours and swirly patterns; now it’s Black, and the barrier that surrounds it is red and yellow. The whole Black City is submerged in an ocean of blood. 
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At the corners of the Black City there are several white slaves commonly depicted in Kirkwall iconography. This may be another dev-hint to reinforce the idea that Kirkwall was truly where this event occurred. 
This scene represents the verses Silence 1-3 [ Chant of Light - Part 1] where the Magisters commit the second sin: they enter the Golden City through rituals of lyrium and blood magic with 99 sacrifices [probably more than that] and “taint” it, according to the Andrastian myth. It is curious that the image does not show the entrance to the city through a bridge of flesh raising to the skies as the "dissonant verses” explain.  Instead, the Black City is located underground. It could be considered a normal limitation of the lack of space to draw this picture, but it also inspires this idea hinted in Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads that something terrible is underground, collapsed, and hidden, so nobody would use it [or in my opinion, nobody would cause its reflection in the Fade].
The Maker speaks to Andraste
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The colour of this glass is predominantly blue and red, with a central green ray.
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Here, we find a figure without face and a crown that represents the Maker; we had seen this same concept in other pieces of art in what I called Faceless figure holding a crown.  It took me a while to realise this sculpture was the representation of the Maker so forgive the tag name.
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Around the Maker’s heart appears a swirly tree that seems to be contained in a circular barrier. This brings strong reminiscences of the mosaics in the Fen’Harel’s mountain ruins, where we find some common designs between the Vhenadahl, Elven Tree Statue, the titan’s guardian’s heart, and dimensional pockets, all of them related to magic, lyrium veins, and spaces in-between the Fade and the Waking World. In Fen’Harel’s mountain ruins, I explained in detail that it doesn’t seem to be odd that the Fen’Harel mosaic which features an object that could be interpreted as a pocket space and also as a spherical elven tree [both symbols of power that may or may not be related to lyrium] appear later in this stained glass, in a very similar fashion to the symbols drawn on the Vhenadahl’s trunk of some alienages. 
How do we explain this without wild weird theories? Simply as the natural evolution of tales and symbols across history, modified by generations due to the inaccurate nature of the oral tradition. We could speculate that elvhenan survivors and former slaves of the Evanuris who found refuge in Fen’Harel may have kept Fen’Harel’s legend alive throughout history, despite the creation of the Veil and the posterior slavery of Tevinter.
We know via  Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads that “something angry”, described as a “sphere of fire”, is hidden underground. It’s hard to tell how much of this knowledge leaked into the general unconsciousness of the free elvhenan slaves, since Solas always wanted to hide this piece of history, fearing others would use it to claim power.  But I think some details reached the elvhenan free slaves [maybe as fantasy cautionary tales] who passed that knowledge to other generations when they lost their immortality and the symbol ended up in the Vhenadahl being decorated with a red trunk and white branches/vines. Since this knowledge seems to be related to elves and the “old ways” [according to the elves from the alienage] one could suspect this element was developed around the time of the Dalish Kingdom in the Dales, where the Chantry was still creating its Chant by absorbing a lot of elements from different folktales [see The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light for more details]. So it seems that the Chantry may have also taken something of this idea of a “powerful and dangerous tree” and turned into this symbol: a white tree in a red sphere that represents the Maker’s heart, something they fear but also consider it dear [from a religious point of view]. 
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In another interpretation, considering its root symmetry, we may consider this tree-symbol as a representation of Mythal, simply because it has some distant similarities with the Vallaslin [leaf-free tree]. In fact, since DAO we have been seeing a constant symbology of a tree, losing its leaves, which had a similar design to one of the old Vallaslins that may represent Mythal’s. 
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There is also a symbol of a tree which upper part looks similar to the roots of the maker’s tree; it is a tree of peace that was cut to make a war table in Skyhold that may or may not relate to some original tale or event that can be linked to this old symbol of a tree in the stained glass. [More details about the tree symbols in  Murals in DAI: Red Lyrium Idol]. Sadly, we know nothing more about this symbol, so we can’t speculate much either. 
Continuing with the stained glass, this strange circle that contains a swirly tree drops a ray of green light [colour similar to the Fade if we follow the colours in the most naive, simple way and exclusively from a design point of view]. This could even suggest that  Andraste talked to the Maker through the Fade [something we have been suspecting for a while since some events in Andraste’s life make us consider her as a potential mage], which gives the idea that the Maker could have been any spirit, and Andraste spoke to it in a similar fashion as alamarri/Avvar mages do [which would make a lot of sense since she was part of the alamarri culture that did not punish magic and tended to contact spirits for counsel]. 
In the field of speculations, it would not be super strange that this Maker were Mythal herself too. We know she has talked to others through dreams: she may have called Kieran in this way, but we also know that there is an elf in Val Royeaux who claims to have been visited by Mythal in dreams and after that conversation, he has his face burned with her vallaslin [Elven Servant Dreams of Mythal, another videos here]. So, this detail in the glass may hide a situation of the like. Or maybe not. We are here reading too much into everything, after all.
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Andraste extends her hand to reach a “sphere of fire”. We know how disturbing a “sphere of fire” is for the elvhenan; we have been discussing this for a long while in the series of Murals in DAI in general, and in The Creation of the Veil and in The Death of a Titan in particular. Somehow, the andrastian myth managed to have that exact symbol representing faith and cleansing [we also know that Andraste was always deeply related to fire, since in her Temple, she asks those worthy to cross a wall of flame, more details in “ Temple of Andraste”].
It also worth noting that this icon is deeply related to magic [a human with a flame close to their hands is a good representation of a mage] but the Chantry may have dismissed and erased any potential interpretation related to magic due to its agenda since the beginning to prevent the creation of any other nation similar to Tevinter [filled with free mages]. 
Another interpretation is that this “swirly tree”, so related to Magic in the elvhenan culture, drops a green Fade-like coloured ray onto her and grants her or gives her a “sphere of fire”, that could represent magic power. This has so many different interpretations of what could have been if Andraste were a mage, a dreamer or even a host for Mythal.  Sadly, all those speculations fit in an interesting way here but none has too much support outside the iconography of this glass alone. However, I must say, that the environment around Andraste favours a lot the speculation of her being a mage [I mean, the Alamarri may have a similar approach to mages than the Avvar].
From an Andrastian point of view, this stained glass represents Andraste receiving or showing her fiery faith in the Maker, as she speaks to him, or to his heart. Still in this interpretation the symbols of a swirly tree in the heart of the Maker is very strange. 
She is also standing on something that looks like a mountain. All over this image, we see the mantle of the Maker [blue with a small berries-like pattern] falls all upon her. This mantle will appear again in Andraste’s ascension, in the last stained glass.
The verses that this stained glass represents are Andraste 1 [Chant of Light - Part 1], in which there is no mention of any tree making this symbol even more curious in this stained glass.
With Maferath, Andraste leads the alamarri armies against Tevinter
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The colour of this glass is predominantly orange and red, with blue.
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The top of the stained glass shows two spheres: one with a golden crown [that I think it represents the Maker, since it’s a similar crown to the one he is wearing in the previous stained glass and in his other representations], and the other with fire as a representation of Andraste’s faith. Both “spheres” are on a golden circle that looks like a Golden Ring. Notice that it has a patterns of small Chantry suns repeated on it. Inside the ring, we see blue glass which may be interpreted as something related to lyrium? It’s a bit disturbing for me to see the Golden Ring containing a pool of water-lyrium, and then, on the bottom of the piece, several men that look like avvar/alamarri warriors painted in the same colour. In an Elvhenan context, this would mean servants or slaved. Here, it’s not clear if this meaning has survived when the Chantry adapted the elvhenan details and symbols to their own purposes, and to what extend they did it. 
I insist in doing these connections because we know that the Chantry is a mash-up of previous religions and symbols, so there is a chance for all these symbols to be distantly related to Elvhenan or others.
In an Elvhenan context, the Golden Ring seemed to imply control of masses [more details in Nation Art: Elvhen], and the presence of this water-lyrium pool reinforces the idea of control when each of the soldiers is coloured with the same blue. It’s also curious all of them are drawn below two diagonal lines that seem to imply mountains. So these warriors look like being below the mountain. Does any of this makes sense in the context of the Chantry? no. But I would not be surprised that part of these symbols were co-opted and adapted from ancient symbols. For example, look at the similarities of the design of this stained glass: 
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The configuration of this particular stained glass reminds me of the Stone in Razikale-Ceremony-style [which despite being found in ancient Tevinter buildings, it seems to have an elvhenan origin that we cannot precise as we discussed in Razikale Ceremony and Dumat’s Warrior tablets]. Instead of focusing this stained glass on Andraste as an equivalent of this High Priest of Razikale, it focuses on Maferath and Andraste. The symbols of the Maker and the Faith have the same place than the strange skull in the tablet. At the lower half of the piece we find the devote warriors of Andraste, while in the tablet, there are priests of Razikale and some warriors. Again, I’m not saying this is the same representation nor that there exist a non-unequivocally equivalence between these pieces of art. I’m just considering how the tablet, of Elvhenan origin adapted to Tevinter needs later, may have been incorporated in the symbology of the Chantry to bring faithful of previous religions to this one, showing familiar, appealing images [again, this is how religion has been working in our world, specially when it comes about evangelisation during colonisation procedures]. 
The general interpretation of this stained glass is simple: the central part show the main two figures responsible of the Exalted March against Tevinter: Andraste and Masferath. Both are under the symbols of the Maker and the Faith, the “true” powers of this couple. Maferath is depicted as if he was getting tired of Andraste “leading” this Exalted March. He places his hand on her shoulder as a way to try to stop her, but Andraste is depicted too stoic and determined in her goal. Below them, armies of loyal/devout alamarri warriors, painted in a colour that is related to the background of the symbols of Faith and the Maker, maybe as a way to represent that they are guided, ultimately, by “the sun” that the Maker represents.
The verses that this stained glass refers to are not clear in the Chant of Light we were given. I don’t find a particular group of verses where Andraste narrates her movement across Ferelden and the Waking Sea to invade Tevinter lands. The closest verse to this action is Shartan Verses [Chant of Light - Part 2] but also this historical event is implied in Hymns and Transfigurations ]Chant of Light - Part 1] where Andraste prays to the Maker before some battles. It is curious that there is no verses about the “travelling” part of Andraste and her armies, not even when crossing the Waking Sea.
The Fall of Tevinter Imperium
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The colour of this glass is predominantly orange and red.
This glass seems to represent the siege of Minrathous or maybe another important city. To be honest, I never understood well the event that DA series calls “the siege of Minrathous”, because that siege never happened, since Andraste was betrayed and handed over to Tevinter after talking to her armies but before the siege itself. In any case, we can consider it a generic Tevinter city. 
Anyways, on the top of the image we see the sphere of fire, a representation of Faith, enormous and powerful hitting hard on the city which turns into flames [red everywhere].  Two rays fall upon the city buildings, and the Tevinters, represented as those screaming people who are part of the city itself, burn with the fire of the faith that this Exalted March has brought. In order to snuff out the fire of their bodies, they sink into the water barely noticeable in the lower part of the glass. I don’t think there is nothing extra to analyse in this one.
However, if we see this image with Elvhenan eyes, we may suspect it as a prophecy, in which the “sphere of fire” raises to the skies and the world is burnt with its anger. The reckoning comes from the skies, almost as if this were the revenge that Mythal awaited for so long [I always remember Flemeth’s words: “She was betrayed as I was betrayed – as the world was betrayed […] and I will see her avenged! [...] a reckoning that will shake the very heavens”]. But then again, this is just another interpretation with an Elvhenan perspective seeing this image that may or may not have had this intention from the devs.
This particular scene is too generic to represent a particular verse of the Chant of Light. It’s a symbol of the army power that Andraste led in the andrastian myth. Maybe it can even be a cautionary image: “this is what an Exalted March looks like”, it seems to say, and maybe this symbol have put some pressure in the consciousness of the elves that ended up living in city alienages but their resentment for the failing of the Dalish Kingom was still too fresh. Certainly, it’s a pretty raw image.
Shartan as part of Andraste’s forces
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The predominance of blue in this glass is interesting due to the potential implications with lyrium and eluvians.  
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At the top of the glass we see a ring, but this time is coloured in a deep blue, which contains two spheres: one with Fire, as representation of the Faith in the Maker, and another one empty [????]. Andraste is in the centre and above Shartan to represent her as higher in the hierarchy of the forces; she is after all, the “prophet”.  
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A bit below, we see chains in the red windows, the symbol of slavery without any doubt. These chains are a bit different to the one that wraps Shartan. That chain looks like chain-mail, which is used in Chantry-like illustrations. For example, the Tarot card of Justinia V represents her necklace with the Chantry-sun using this type of chain. It’s quite interesting that this chain is restraining Shartan. In a simple glance one would interpret it as the chains of slavery, but they are the ones related to the Chantry while holding a key. Inside an Elvhenan context, this figure would mean that Shartan had the key of some eluvians, and the Chantry, restraining him, forced him to be part of this Exalted March and even use it to cover long extensions of terrain. 
Another interpretation is that Shartan is represented as a vital key in the Exalted March against Tevinter: he has the key of victory, although he is very restrained by the Chantry itself. This may be a representation of the verses that have been “lost” or removed from the Chant. It’s a strange picture that does not seem to reflect any verse when we only have Shartan 9 and 10 [Chant of Light - Part 2].
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On the background, we see slaves [I assume so because the shape of their heads is almost the same than the ones depicted in Kirkwall]. One of them is free, wearing green/brown earthy humble clothes, standing on grass, lifting their hand towards Shartan. The other is a slave, wrapped in white clothes and yellow chains? They seem to be a potential victim of a sacrifice. They are praying to Shartan and lowering their head in front of him. Curiously, Shartan and this figure have similar wrapping. This wrapping is negative as we can see in the next stained glass.
Even though we have the verses of Shartan 9 and 10 in the non-canon Chant [Chant of Light - Part 2], none of them seem to have inspired this image. To me, it’s related to the role that elves had in the history of Andraste’s march, but it’s not clear in what manner. Hence my suspicion that this image may represent the lost verses that scholars suspect exist in between 9 and 10. This, of course, would be a hint given by the devs. 
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Based on my own personal speculation, I think this part may speak of “elven magic” allowing to “teleport” Andraste’s armies using the eluvians. Eluvians are always “locked doors” that can be unlock with a correct key [sometimes a password, sometime an object that works as a key], so the fact that this elf is holding a key in his hand is basically telling me that the devs are suggesting that eluvians were involved in this part of the story. To emphasise that from a design point of view, we can see a very subtle outline of an eluvian at the background, coloured in blue [as eluvians are when they are active].
Why would the Chantry remove a verse explaining that the elves allowed Andraste’s armies to use eluvians? simply put: because it looks like elven magic allows teleportation. This breaks one of the three main [Chantry] rules of magic [since DAO] that Thedas holds as something you cannot violate without disastrous consequences: No teleportation, no physical entrance to the Fade, and no immortality [all of them explained in the codex The Cardinal Rules of Magic]. Ironically, as we can see once we reach DAI, all of them are bullshit: it’s more Chantry misunderstanding of how the world of Thedas is and works. Elvhenan magic and Elvhenan nature are intrinsically the violation of all those rules, so it makes sense for me that the Chantry removed any potential verse that may implicate the fact that there are ways to transport people long distances through the eluvians. 
Maferath hands Andraste over to Tevinter
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The colour of this glass is predominantly red with accentuated blue.
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At the top of the glass we see once more the Golden Ring [now in a pale yellow] with the two spheres: fire and a crown that we know they stand for Faith and Maker, respectively. The inner background of the Golden ring now is grey, assuming it’s a way to interpret that the Faith in the Maker has been diminished, at least on Masferath’s part since here we see when he hands Andraste over to the Archon. 
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In the main central piece we see Maferath holding a Chantry chain as if it were a sword that will decide Andraste’s fate. Since Andraste is wrapped in this chain, this represents the “betrayal”. Maferath chains Andraste and hands her over to Tevinter. These chains are in blue, standing out from the glass which has been painted predominantly in warm colours. 
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There is a small tile in the background where we see two small snakes in yellow, suggesting this action was a consequence of a “whisper” of Tevinter or a secret arranged between Maferath and the Archon, so two snakes are behind this event.
Andraste is crying blood and she is wearing her typical crown of a single spike. She still looks upwards, to the Maker and the Faith symbols.
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Down below we see a rat, which is curious because I can’t find a significant interpretation to this: Masferath is a rat? XD This kind of details spark wild conspiracy theories. I won’t go there, but certainly I would like to know what’s the design purpose of putting it in the foreground. The snakes representing the secret meeting of Maferath with the Archon is less relevant than this rat. Lol.
This stained glass represents the verse of Apotheosis 1 [Chant of Light - Part 2].
Andraste is burnt publicly and Archon Hessarian kills her out of mercy
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The colour of this glass is predominantly red and brown.
Here we find the stained glass separated into two. The foreground is dominated by Archon Hessairan who is presented with a Tevinter outfit and two golden snake raising to his side, probably as a representation of the original “betrayal” he encouraged Masferath to do.  
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He is killing Andraste out of mercy with a sword that doesn’t look like the usual one they depict as the “Sword of Mercy”. However, we see this sword in the “Tevinter warrior” that decorates the columns of the Imperial Highway: check the Female Kossith/ Desire demon /Tevinter Warrior tag.
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On the background, we see Andraste being beheaded. This is curious because the verses and the most common depictions show her death being caused by the sword piercing her chest/heart. This makes us wonder if these stained glasses have more information than the verses [which I think they do since Shartan’s stained glass implicates a lot of more things than those said in the Chant]. The background behind Andraste is full of red and fire to represent the pyre. She is also wearing her typical one-spiked crown. In her hair, at the top of the image, we see the sphere of fire once more: the symbol of Faith, bigger than in the other cases, probably as a representation of her determined faith [but also, from an Elvhenan point of view, it’s a symbol of something terrible and angry]. 
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Curiously, in the background, at the middle of the glass, we find the crown that we assumed it represented the Maker, but it’s not inside a sphere anymore, but inside an inverted triangle painted in green. The inverted triangle may suggest the Maker came down from the skies to take Andraste’s soul? 
In an elvhenan context, this elongated inverted triangle would mean the presence of the Fade in this event. Its colour is the same one than the “green ray” coming from the swirly tree/ heart of the Maker that we saw before. Is this a symbol showing that the presence of the Maker was here during this episode?
If we assume that Andraste was a mage, possessed by a spirit that kept her safe and taught her magic, this symbol may represent that this spirit [which has been talking to her and working as “The Maker”] left her body in that moment. Now, these interpretations can go as wild as we want, but at the end of the day is hard to appraise which is the better one, since we don’t know how old these stained glasses are, and if our hypothesis that there may be some elvhenan symbols is correct. 
The verse that this stained glass reprsents is Apotheosis 2 [Chant of Light - Part 2]
Andraste ascends her mortal form
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The colour of this glass is predominantly yellow. If yellow can be understood as golden, and we add more meaning to these stained glasses by embracind the elvhenan iconography, this may be telling us that Andraste reached divinity. 
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In the final stained glass, we find the ascension of Andraste: her background is entirely yellow/golden. At the top of the glass we see some columns and a structure that suggests a roof, implying she reached the Golden City.  
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She is wearing her crown, but now it has 3 spikes. She seems to be bald now since we don’t see any bit of hair [that’s what pyres do even in the afterlife, I guess]. Over her head is always present the sphere of fire representing her never-ending Faith. At the sides of her face, we find two inverted triangles. One in blue, representing the Maker with his crown inside, and the other in red, representing a sword [that I think it’s similar to the one used by the Archon in the previous glass]. This may represent that through an act that spilled blood [being killed by a sword] she reached the Maker. But these triangles could also be used to “remember” her as a warrior as well as the bride of the Maker. I don’t know, the interpretation gets a bit diversified here. The red stands out and it related to the “earth”, since at the lowest part of the stained glass we see the ground painted in the same colour.
She is wearing a white robe with a golden scarf, reinforcing the idea of bride and purity [cleansed by the fire], as she is emerging from the mountains, interpreting this as her ascension to the Maker’s side [the Maker has appeared to her behind the top of the mountains, according to Andraste 1]. 
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The sides of the glass show a pattern of “berries”, which are in the same style that the ones we saw in the Maker’s mantle in the first glass. This may indicate she is under the roof/mantle of the Maker now.
The verse represented in this image is the last part of Apotheosis 2 [Chant of Light - Part 2]
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In the book World of Thedas, we find a concept art of a Chantry, which ground is what caught my attention the most: we find a Quincunx, a symbol that long ago we had found in a repetitive way all over DAO and had disappeared after DA Awakening. In DAI reappeared in Solas’ tarot card and in some elements of Orlesian Design, but never got the relevance it had once in DAO.
In here, we see the centre focused on the Golden City, while the other four points display the crown of the Maker.
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redlyriumidol · 19 days
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Not to agree with Tevinter but I'm deeply committed to "Andraste was a regular human mage" as a lifestyle because I think it's a better story. Also I see her as kind of the "player character" of her time, the same way Javik was the Shepard of his time with his own crew and mission etc. A regular woman caught in events beyond herself and having to become a leader. A hero's journey. Confirming the existence of the Maker either way would be silly imo and I would hate soooo much for Andraste to be Mythal and Solas to be Shartan or anything like that. First there can be more than one bald elf in all of history and Solas was havin a little nap anyway supposedly. Can't it just be a Normal Elf who did something important? Making everything about the Evanuris is boring, I'd rather it just be an ordinary tale about ordinary people that did extraordinary things and were eventually warped into legend and then religion.
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aleroin · 1 year
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slipping these in my pocket too
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vigilskeep · 6 months
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why the kirkwall chantry is dedicated to hessarian, and why that gives us more than just a cooler name for it with a sexy accusatory nickname for anders in there somewhere: an illustrated guide!
(wait, wait, please remind me who hessarian even is, i hear you ask. hessarian was the tevinter archon who ordered andraste’s execution on the pyre. but struck with guilt at the last minute, he mercifully (i GUESS) killed andraste with a sword rather than let her suffer in the fire. he converted to andrastianism a decade later and took the rest of the imperium with him. he’s really popular in tevinter because, you know, he kind of improves their whole role in the story, and the chantry there likes to think he’s the most important disciple. you may recognise him from being one of the spirits in the urn of sacred ashes gauntlet, from the lore behind the blade of mercy gift for fenris, and the ‘blades of hessarian’ group on the storm coast in inquisition.)
okay, let’s first get the basics down: why do i think the kirkwall chantry is dedicated to hessarian? merrill, our glamorous tour guide to andrastian nonsense, is going to show us why
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here’s merrill examing the architecture of the kirkwall chantry. and it’s covered in this guy!
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how do we know this guy is hessarian? let’s compare it to some other, canonical andrastion depictions of the latecomer disciple. hessarian is typically depicted with some type of crown or headwear to demonstrate his status in tevinter, robes to denote him as a mage, a long beard probably also symbolic of tevinter culture at the time, and, of course, his blade of mercy. we can see all of these on the figure repeatedly shown in and outside the kirkwall chantry, as well as a certain similarity in the face to the other depictions.
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here’s another variant of how the kirkwall chantry depicts the blade of mercy! these are Everywhere, including right over the doors.
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and here’s more variants of the same figure inside. he’s carrying some kind of incense burner instead of a sword here, but it’s clearly the same face with the same crown and that classic hessarian beard. note his position of power flanking the enormous andraste figure.
so... why does that matter? isn’t it just a repeated asset?
no, it’s CRAZY actually. and here’s a couple reasons why!
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(fascinated by genitivi’s word choice of glitzy mansions, btw.)
firstly, the kirkwall chantry’s dedication to hessarian’s figure is one of the biggest markers that it, along with the gallows and the darkspawn, is a legacy of tevinter. as i said, he’s the favourite there. kirkwall was once emerius under tevinter’s rule, and from the moment we see the weeping twins that welcome you into the city, we’re supposed to remember that the city of chains has not changed all that much. just as emerius’ prisons now incarcerate mages, its industry is now powered by refugees, and the worst parts of its lowtown hold elves probably just as they once did, its magisters’ estates continue to hold the most powerful voices in the city: in this case, that of the chantry and grand cleric elthina. the hessarian statues that demonstrate the chantry’s wealth and power are inarguably either tevinter made or at least made in their style, with such similarity to the statues of slaves that terrorise the gallows courtyard. hightown is no more free of that inheritance than the circle.
secondly, the focus on hessarian can’t be an accident in dragon age 2, a game obsessed with the mercy kill. “without an end, there can be no peace,” says flemeth. somebody has to kill wesley rather than watch him turn into a ghoul. anders has to kill karl. hawke possibly has to kill their other sibling if they catch the taint in the deep roads. varric can kill bartrand when he goes insane. killing the serial killer of elven children rather than letting his madness continue is one of the most universally approved decisions in the game. in her last words, leandra thanks you for ending the mage keeping her alive with twisted necromancy, even if, and especially because, it means the end of her suffering in death. merrill has to kill a possessed keeper marethari. many more can be killed for being “too dangerous” to live, like the blood mage idunna. orsino is slain by hawke after transforming into a monster he would never have wanted to be. there’s probably a dozen more examples i can think of. and of course, in one of the most game-defining decisions hawke has to make, there’s the option to kill anders after the destruction of the kirkwall chantry. merciful is not the word i would use for that, but it has certainly been framed that way. i suppose that’s the same as what i think of hessarian’s actions, isn’t it? (we’re focusing on the andrastian relevance here and not the godawful treatment of mentally ill people in this game, btw, although. yikes.)
“don’t compare yourself to andraste,” says sebastian to anders. he could try telling the game that. hawke gets cast into a lot of roles, but when anders believes they will kill him, he’s casting himself as the martyred andraste, dying to burn rebellion into the face of thedas, and hawke as his hessarian, quick with the merciful blade. i suppose it’s fitting that the kirkwall chantry should be consecrated in the image of its champion. and that the chantry covered in that image gets destroyed moments before hawke makes their choice, if they decide to make a different one. it’s also worth mentioning that meredith is a mimic of andraste, too, with her stolen crown, making anders and meredith obvious combatants for andraste’s legacy in the game. hawke doesn’t get much command of the narrative, but maybe they can at least dodge being anders’ hessarian, if they choose.
idk i think it’s really fucking cool and we should talk about it more, basically! there’s a lot of other angles to take. hessarian is such a fun lore figure to explore. for example, i didn’t even get into the prominence of an andrastian mage figure here, or that the blade of mercy is the symbol of the templar order and was invoked even earlier, in dao, as the “blade of mercy” by traumatised mages who desperately sought to be purified by the templars’ judgement.
also, i think ‘the chantry of hessarian’s mercy’ sounds good. maybe ‘the chantry of our lady’s spilled blood’? that could be sexy. whatever. i’m workshopping it
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catebeesart · 2 years
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Cruentis Cor Andraste
Been thinking of the many versions of Andraste that exist across Thedas since this post and turns out, there's several!!
According to the Chant of Light, Archon Hessarian saw the error of his ways as Andraste was burning, putting his sword through her heart to spare her from pain. He claims he heard the voice of the Maker when his blade touched her heart, thus converting to Andrastianism later in his life. Although the Imperial Chantry's cult is more centered on the Maker himself, Andraste still plays an important role in Worship, often depicted with her heart bared and run through with the legendary Blade of Mercy.
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nightingaletrash · 21 days
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I am once again planning a da4 character because I have no self-control and dao gave me an idea:
Her name is Vasiliki 'Vasia' Zinovia, a Lord of Fortune descended in a disgraced line from Archon Hessarian.
Why is her line disgraced? Because they have no mages. Vasia herself is a warrior, and while she has the occasional vaguely prophetic dream (courtesy of her ancestor Eleni Zinovia), she has no magical ability whatsoever. Frankly, she doesn't really care either. When her father(?) was killed by the Venatori, his dying wish was for her to take care of the rest, and she takes that job very seriously. She puts 110% into others and leaves nothing for herself because that's her job as the big sister, the guardian and protector. The past is dead and gone and she's focused on the future first and foremost (Sera would love her).
If she gets recruited by the Shadow Inquisition, it's because she's following her instinct to protect and provide for others, not because she particularly wants to be some important world saving hero.
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valleyedprism · 2 years
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Just had the riddles conversation in the Gauntlet for origins… lady vasilia… “I am justice. I am vengeance. Blood can only be repaid in blood”
https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Vasilia
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illusivesoul · 3 years
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Andraste's spirits - Archon Hessarian, archon of the Tevinter Imperium
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ohmyarda · 4 years
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Lady Vasilia, wife of Archon Hessarian, the one who wanted Andraste to burn.
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k1ngj0ve · 2 years
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One more thing about the 'Dragon Age Game where you play as Andraste' idea
So your instinct is 'yeah your opinions are all correct, youre smart, creative, and sexy. Bioware should hire you, of course, but what you havent considered is that it wont be fun because you know how andrastes story ends already.'
But! I did actually think about that!
1. all the dragon age games are like that. You pretty much cant complete Origins and LOSE, it just sends you back to a save point until you win, same for Inquisition. 'diverging paths' but you end up in the same place
2. if 'winning' is necessary, id say you cant win DA2, since its basically a riot after the 'loss' of the chantry with a boss battle against the old chief of police (meredith, but with an Extra Evil Sword and a.... mech). I dont count that as 'winning' the game, thats just some lady that was always accessible to you.
so we would do the Andraste game somewhat similiar-- you can 'set a lot of things in motion' and maybe have a big battle to protect one last thing right before the finale, and thats your big final boss fight, but thats not where the game ends. the game ends on that pire
"oh, so you complete the game by being burned at the stake by Archon Hessarian?? thats pretty anticlimactic and ooc for my badass warrior andraste i plan to play as"
Well see, thats the trick! thats where multiple endings come from. Depending on your choices through the game (who got put in power, who lives, who likes you, what supplies you had) you get to find out if you REALLY died in that moment or went into hiding under a secret name. Maybe you died to keep the lore pure, maybe your friends saved you at the last second, maybe you went to live a quiet life in hiding or maybe you changed your name and became one of many Shartans. Maybe you died, maybe you get a whole additional 5 minute scene showing you went on to continue changing the world in secret
after playing youre like 'damn the ending is such a bummer' then at the end of the credits you see a little ticker-- unlocked ending 1 of 5 WILDLY exciting! (to me at least)
'but that doesnt keep to lore!' yeah, exactly! it doesnt!! what interesting implications! and, conveniently, so long ago that you cant say for sure if that would change anything in Origins, if anyone wouldve heard it 1000 years later!
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felassan · 4 years
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So the Chantry is kinda all pervasive amongst humans in Thedas, but it's only been going for ~1000 years, what do we know of pre/non Andrastian religion amongst humans and other folk?
oohh, great question
Some of this stuff is more like philosophy or religion-adjacent, but it’s worth going into on the subject of the query.
(Note: terms like “shaman” and “animism” are coming from in-universe sources/quotes)
The dwarves don’t worship a god, but they venerate The Stone and have been doing so for over 2000 years. They believe themselves to be the Children of the Stone, which they refer to as “she”. She shelters them, supports them and offers them the most priceless gifts of the earth. Most non-surface dwarves really don’t want to lose their connection to the Stone, their innate Stone-sense. They also practise something akin to ancestor worship. Worthy dwarves are thought to return to the Stone’s embrace in death and become Ancestors. The Ancestors guide the dwarves and speak with the voice of the Provings. Genetivi writes that “for guidance in spiritual matters”, the dwarves turn to their Ancestors. Dwarves may ask the Ancestors to guard or protect them or their loved ones. They also seek to honor and follow in the footsteps of their Paragons. Paragons are believed to have joined with the Stone in life and are essentially elite role models. They’re elected by the Assembly after a great invention, act of valor or other notable action or trait, mostly posthumously. Paragons are set above the ancestors and even kings. If living a Paragon has ‘living Ancestor’ status. There’s some overlap in these concepts; dwarves are said to practise living ancestor worship by way of naming Paragons.
The dwarves of Kal-Sharok have lived for many years in isolation and consequently some of their religious and associated practises have somewhat diverged. They don’t recognize the Paragons of Orzammar, and their own Paragons are selected based on promised deeds, as opposed to ones already undertaken. The Sha-Brytol defend and revere the Titans. They later come to both love and fear Valta due to her restored Titan-connection. Meanwhile, some Surface dwarves still cleave to the Stone. Others are Andrastian or non-religious. Brother Burkel in DAO was an Andrastian Surface dwarf who wished to open a Chantry in Orzammar. I wonder if dwarven beliefs before their sundering from the Titans were centered around the Titans, as their beliefs now are around the Stone (which is like, the same thing, but also not).
The big-Q Qunari follow the Qun. “Qunari” means “People of the Qun”. The Qun is a school of thought and set of teachings based on the writings and philosophies of its founder, Ashkaari Koslun, in the Tome of Koslun. “The Qun” is the philosophical text Koslun wrote, and it’s noted to be “a philosophy” which “does not allow for the existence of religions”. Qunari society is essentially based on the Qun. Notably, it’s not an atheistic belief system (“not” isn’t a typo here, I think it’s something DG once said. not sure how this fits together). Humans, elves and dwarves can convert to and embrace the Qun, whereupon they become known as Viddathari - like Tallis, or Gatt. It’s possible for Viddathari to become Arishok, Arigena or Ariqun. The Ariqun is the leader of the Qunari priesthood and Tamassrans and the Ben-Hassrath are branches of it. Members of the horned race born outside of the Qun - who have never known it - are considered Vashoth (grey - Genetivi’s interview with a Vashoth goat herder is insightful here), and Qunari of any race who intentionally leave or abandon the Qun are Tal-Vashoth (true grey). To be Tal-Vashoth is to rebel against the Qun’s principles.
Many Rivaini people have converted to the Qun, especially in Kont-aar, which is a Qunari settlement on the mainland. Many native Seherons have also converted to the Qun. City Elves are notably likely to convert due to their unfair lot and mistreatment in human society. The original native inhabitants of Par Vollen, the Fex, have been assimilated into the Qun. Before that, the Fex were probably the “people of Par Vollen” who built the vast cities and great distinctive pyramids on the island which are now ruins. These pyramids don’t seem to be tombs, and due to their design may be scientific in purpose (observatories). They could instead potentially have been of religious significance. Those people used to have temples, upon which they made stylized painted carvings depicting tall horned figures in positions of authority and respect: “What were these horned figures to the ancients of Par Vollen? Priests, ritualistically crowned? Heroes? Gods, perhaps? We may never know the truth. But when the Qunari arrived from the sea, horned and carrying the word of the Qun, perhaps instead of conquerors, the people of Par Vollen saw an old legend returning to them.” This seems to be the reason why the Fex were assimilated so easily and without resistance.
Before the foundation of the Qun, the people who preceded the Qunari - “kossith” isn’t quite right as a term for them, for several reasons - prayed to animist gods. World of Thedas says “they were wild then, devoted to a chaos that kept them from greatness”. When “the Qun became law, the temples kossith built to honor their animist gods were destroyed, and their priests were reeducated or driven into exile”.
The main elven religion can probably be roughly split into three categories: the ancient religion, in which the Evanuris were worshipped as god-kings by ancient elves in Elvhenan and which probably still has some relevance for the few remaning ancient elves today (see Abelas and co); the modern Dalish faith, involving the Dalish elves’ conception of the pantheon as the Creators and how they relate that to their way of life; and those among the City Elves who still keep to the old ways or seem to adhere to both them and Andrastianism, and more broadly speaking, the City Elves’ practising of those cultural rituals that they do remember, and of their own unique traditions. The deities are Mythal, Elgar’nan, June, Andruil, Sylaise, Dirthamen, Falon’Din, Ghilan’nain and sometimes Fen’Harel. A lot has been said on elfy stuff of this kind, so I won’t get much into it. 
Notably, Ameridan, an elf from the Dales (as in the historical Dalish kingdom), revered both the elven pantheon and the Maker. For him, was this syncretism? In the Dales historically, each elven ‘Creator’ god had a High Keeper and a temple. In the modern day most City Elves are Andrastian, although Andrastianism for several reasons is more distant as a concept to many City Elves compared to how it is for the average human. Some City Elves seem to believe in the Creators or in a combination of both the Creators and the Maker - the Widower in the Hinterlands and his spouse for example kept to the old ways as they could, and he can say to the Inquisitor “Falon’Din guide your steps - or the Maker, as you like”.
There is also still elven worship of the Forgotten Ones, the other half of the elven pantheon. Named Forgotten Ones are Daern’thal, Anaris, Geldauran and sometimes Fen’Harel, but there are others. In the time of the Dales, worship of these beings was persecuted, but secret worship of these gods did continue through til the modern day. “Some fear that these dark beings are less forgotten than most believe, and that a terrible few have strayed deeply into darkness in their quest for vengeance against the shemlen. If these are true and secretive cults do indeed hide among the elves, then such lost souls have torn out their hearts and forsaken all that it means to be Dalish in return for the keys to a twisted and terrible strength”. The elves in the Tirashan are implied to follow gods other than the traditional Dalish Creators, and to wear brilliant crimson vallaslin of these gods. In The Last Court they set upon Seraultine soldiers, and instead of calling out to the Creators for aid, they were calling out to no gods the soldiers had ever heard of before, “offering us up. Like pigs on a platter.” It’s probable that the gods these elves worship are the Forgotten Ones, and it could be that sacrifice is part of their belief system (though it should be noted the recounting of that event was told by a human they’d attacked [bias, fear?]).
The Scaled Ones (a reptilian underground race) seem to have/have had their own religion. Details are thin, but they’ve been observed practising at a golden altar fashioned in the shape of a fire. “On the tip of each flame hung the corpses of those we’d lost. [...] They’d been drained of blood, leaving only bone wrapped in grey skin. A robed Scaled One stood before the altar. Its voice was different from the others: softer, almost feminine. It chanted and raised a basin of blood towards the altar. The other Scaled Ones bowed low. The robed Scaled One produced fire from its palm and mouth and ignited the blood.”
Humanity is very varied. In Andrastianism, you have the main big split, which is the Imperial / ‘black’ Chantry in Tevinter vs the southern / ‘white’ Chantry. Some of the differences between the two variants are covered here. You also have various Andrastian... splinter groups, off-shoots, or cults. This isn’t surprising given that Andrastianism itself was originally a cult known as the Cult of the Maker. After what happened to Andraste, there were many cults, and the Cult of the Maker was oppressed. It just ended up happening to get lucky and became the one which subsumed or supplanted most of the others in the end, thanks to Kordillus. The mainstream Chantry today considers all such alternative practises and beliefs heretical. Many of these beliefs however pre-date the Chantry.
The Inquisitor can encounter the Blades of Hessarian cult. They believe that they serve Andraste and were chosen to bring her judgement upon the weak and corrupt, and that they originate from Trefir, who was a slave of the Archon that Andraste supposedly met.
My favorite offshoot: the Cult of [the] Masked Andraste, in Serault. They worship a huntress-aspect of Andraste unique to Serault, and their sigil is the bow. Their shrine to Masked Andraste stands in the Applewoods,  where she’s depicted with a bow. This cult is neither entirely permitted nor entirely forbidden. Yayy, heterodoxy! They hold secret woodland rites linked to nature, so that “The Masked Andraste will quench its hunger”, and their leader is none other than the Elegant Abbess of the Abbey of the Bans.
The Order of Fiery Promise’s adherents are called Promisers. They believe that the end of the world is coming and also that it’s necessary. They once tried to destroy all Astrariums in order to fulfill their destiny, and they want Thedas to be cleansed with fire to that it can be reborn as a paradise. They’ve resurfaced several times throughout history, and originate in a time long ago when several cults dedicated to Andraste were each trying to become ‘The One’.
The Hero of Ferelden encounters the Disciples of Andraste, led by Father Kolgrim, father of the Haven Chantry. Originally pledged to keep the Temple of Sacred Ashes, by 9:30 they believed a High dragon to be Andraste reincarnated and cared for its eggs and dragonlings. This cult preceded the Chantry and kept itself well-hidden until the modern day. Its leader figures were men. They no longer revere the Maker and instead revere Andraste herself. In DAI, Tamar is a surviving member of this cult.
The Daughters of Song were wiped out by Emperor Drakon during his crusade. They were a hedonistic cult comprised of both women and men whose hedonism was their way of celebrating Andraste’s holy union with the Maker. Their stronghold was in an Orlesian village.
Related to this stuff, there was also the Empty Ones, who are fascinating but harder to classify. They were a small and short-lived cult based out of Nevarra which worshipped the Blight itself and by extension darkspawn. Their belief was that the Blight was the Maker’s tool by which he intended to end all creation, as the world was beyond redemption. They saw the darkspawn as his prophets and wanted to return to the Void. They were wiped out in the Second Blight.
Within the mainstream southern Chantry, mention can also be made of Nevarran practises and beliefs, which are like.. gothic Andrastianism with some distinctive features and bells on? They hold ancestral pageants and don’t burn their dead like other Andrastians. They have a unique relationship with magic and death, unique beliefs about what happens to dead souls and how that interacts with spirits and the Fade, and a unique preoccupation with mummification, necromancy and crypts. The Mortalitasi perform mysterious macabre rites and are often rumored to be a death cult.
Outside of Andrastianism, in Tevinter, worship of the Old Gods occurred thousands of years ago and still persists in secret parts of Tevinter society today. The Old Gods are Dumat, Lusacan, Razikale, Toth, Urthemiel, Andoral and Zazikel. It’s speculated that there may have been an eigthth Old God who was struck from the records. In the days of the ancient Imperium, most citizens worshipped them, and there were associated temples and holidays, and a High Priest and priesthood of each. The true nature of the Old Gods is unknown - demons, spirits, Great dragons, something else? - but they’re the sleeping dragon-shaped beings that become Archdemons if the darkspawn find and Taint them. They used to communicate directly with their worshippers and the influence of Old God worship on Tevinter society is still evident today with how their culture views dragons as the ultimate symbol of power and how dragons are featured heavily in much of their art, architecture, etc. There are still some Old God cults in more modern times:
the Blood Band is an Old God cult led by Fallstick. They hate templars and don’t view blood magic as being inherently evil.
the Last Moon are/were a cult dedicated to Lusacan. Early in the Dragon Age, they abducted and ritualistically murdered several people. Their goal at that time was to cause the start of a terrible battle, in order to cover Thedas in “a night that will never end” (Lusacan being the Dragon of Night). 
Magister Aurelian Titus also led a cult. Titus wanted to return all of the Imperium to the worship of the Old Gods. He tried to use the Dreamer abilities of himself and his cult, bolstered by the Magrallen artifact, in order to brainwash Thedosians. He had a vision of a restored Tevinter where slaves knew their place and the Chant of Light and the Qun were both purged from peoples’ minds. He said “The old gods. The dragon gods. We shall become them”.
there’s also a tale of a group of Old God cultists who departed mainland Thedas on a trio of ships in the late Storm Age to try and reach the mysterious uninhabited land of Amaranth, across the eastern ocean. Their expedition was supposedly never heard from again
The Venatori are also arguably a cult, although not precisely of the Old Gods exactly but of one of the original High Priests of the Old Gods, the Conductor, who we know as Corypheus. They’re the nationalist supremacists that we all.. know and don’t love. They see/saw Corypheus as the Elder One and a deity, essentially, and want to restore the glory of Tevinter. They revered him and believed he’d turn them into god-kings when he became a proper god. Although routed by the Inquisitor in DAI, they’re not gone. Venatori remnant loyalists crop up in Tevinter Nights. One prominent loyalist tries to release a demon sealed under Minrathous in a ritual attempt to bring about “Minrathous’ return”. It was thought that the demon is so powerful that only a god (like Corypheus) could summon it. There’s more on what they’ve recently been up to here (TN spoilers for lots of things, not just the Venatori, at link).
In the universe there have also been several dragon cults throughout history. This isn’t surprising given the prevalence of dragons in the setting and the Imperium’s Old God worship. After the First Blight, many desperate Imperial citizens turned to the worship of real dragons to replace the Old Gods (who had failed them). “A dragon, after all, was a god-figure that they could see: It was there, as real as the Archdemon itself.” Old God worship was as widespread as the Imperium, and so this sort of belief could have easily spread. There are however also reports of dragon cults in places which never worshipped the Old Gods or heard of them. Members of a dragon cult live in the same lair as a High dragon, defending its young. In exchange the dragon lets them kill some of them and drink their blood, which confers benefits on them like increased strength (sounds like Reaver abilities, basically). Scholars aren’t sure how these mutually beneficial relationships begin. Nevarran dragon hunters reported mad rants and tales of godhood from such cultists. Kolgrim’s Disciples of Andraste Andrastian-offshoot cult (see above) is one such dragon cult. Interestingly, it’s a cool example of intersection and socio-religious crossover/spectrum-type stuff (? don’t know how to explain what I mean here in words) like we see in our world. It’s like a Venn diagram or something that goes: Old God worship -> dragon cults -> Kolgrim’s Andrastian dragon cult -> Andrastianism.
Now, Andrastianism and Old God worship aside, in Rivain, the people are pantheists who believe in something called the Natural Order. Rivaini royalty is officially Andrastian, but the Chantry doesn’t have much authority in the country outside of the capital. In the Natural Order, it’s held that the universe and their god are the same. Rivaini people also traditionally place great value on their seers. These wise women are elders and hedge mages that communicate with spirits and allow themselves to be possessed, which reminds me of a similar practise seen in the Avvar. These traditions date back millennia. 
The Avvar still worship the old gods of the Alamarri. Their pantheon includes Sigfrost, Uvolla, Imhar the Clever, the Lady of the Skies, Korth the Mountain Father, Hakkon Wintersbreath, Rilla of the Fireside, Bjorn Reed-beard and dozens of animal gods never revealed to outsiders. Codex entries refer to worship of the Lady of the Skies as “the Avvar Sky Cult” and “the Cult of the Sky”. The Avvarian pantheon is complex, including both legendary mortals who ‘ascended’ to the heavens and spirits. It varies somewhat between groups, as each group has its own legendary heroes, but they all follow the main three (Korth, the Lady, Hakkon). They believe in an afterlife and that some people are destined to be reborn. Avvar shamans are mages called augurs. Augurs are believed to interface between their clan and the spirits, receive counsel from the spirits, conduct rites so that spirits can speak through them, appease some and deal with other troublesome ones. They also interpret omens. Like Rivaini seers they at times allow themselves to be possessed.
The Jaws of Hakkon were a cult of Avvar who had eschewed all the other gods in the Avvar pantheon in favor solely of Hakkon. Adherents are called Hakkonites. They first formed during the Second Blight, when they summoned their spirit-god Hakkon and bound him in the form of a dragon, wanting him to cause destruction in the lowlands for not helping during the Blight. They resurfaced in the Dragon Age when Gurd Harofsen forswore the other gods, having been enraged at the other gods for allowing the Blight to affect his hold and at lowlanders for refusing to aid the Avvar. The Inquisitor routes this second attempt to set the dragon on the lowlands.
Said category of “Alamarri” refers to the following human tribes: Avvar, Clayne (the precursors of modern Fereldans), and the Chasind. When the Alamarri tribes crossed the Frostback Mountains and settled in the lands that would eventually become known as Ferelden, they were fleeing something. Alamarri tribal legend says they were running from a “shadow goddess” (a demon?), but modern scholars believe they were fleeing some kind of natural disaster.
The Chasind Wilders today, like the Avvar, are also not Andrastian. They worship animist gods that an Andrastian refers to as “brutal” (likely biased). Their communities are led by shamans. The Chasind celebrate and respect the Witches of the Wilds, in particular Flemeth. They fashion some of their weapons in the shapes of animals in order to confuse their gods; if they happen to kill someone beloved by their gods, they might blame these ‘animals’ instead. They also traditionally personify the seasons as female warriors, bearing the typical attributes of renewal and death, and having animal heads. “Winter is of note for its brutality, as it is tied to their rumored custom of killing those who flee battle.” The gods the Chasind worship may or may not be the same ones as the Avvarian gods. Or maybe there’s overlap.
The Agadi live far to the south beyond the Chasind. The Chasind word for them, Agadi, means “exile”. Genetivi was harshly corrected by the Chasind when he asked if these people were Chasind. He concludes that they were expelled from the forests by the Chasind and have since splintered off into their own culture in the sunless lands. Bad blood lingers between them and the Chasind. Since they seem to have split off from the Chasind, it’s possible that these people worship the same gods as the Chasind, perhaps with some differing customs, or else their culture has diverged far enough that they have their own completely distinct belief system and deities.  
The indigenous Seherons who haven’t converted to the Qun appear to have their own beliefs. Their legends speak of their heroes who “learned at the feet of elves”. The Fog Warriors, who are native Seherons, have Fog Dancers who recite their legends of old and keep the songs of their people alive. They talk of an ancient calamity known as the “Curse of Nahar”. It’s not a stretch to say they likely have their own religion.
Elsewhere in modern known Thedas, we have no real idea about the religious beliefs of the following groups:
The Orth people: they practise facial scarification, perhaps this practise is partially religious in basis (like Dalish vallaslin)
Historically, the pre-Chantry religion of the Clayne would have either been the Avvarian faith or something similar to it. The Planasene were a farming tribe that formed the basis of most of humanity in Nevarra and the Free Marches. They had a strong culture of animist worship. The Neromenian tribes originally worshipped fallen heroes reborn as dragons. When the Old Gods taught the Dreamers of these tribes magic, these Dreamers became the priests and kings of their people. Through those Dreamers as their leaders, they began to worship the Dreamers’ gods, also as dragons. This seems to be the origin of Old God Worship (Tevinter being an offshoot of the Neromenians which eventually absorbed them and Qarinus to form the Imperium). Also, early peoples such as the Neromenians had a fascination with all objects in the sky, the Sun and Moon especially. The people of Barindur perished after their High King turned away an envoy from the High Priest of the Old God Dumat; legends say that the priest called upon his god to punish the King, and after some months Barindur was lost (after being encased following volcanic eruption is the mundane explanation). From this we could possibly infer either that the Barindur people worshipped the Old Gods and then rejected them or that they rejected them from the outset, and in either scenario were punished by them for this (or believed to be).
We have no real idea about the religious beliefs of the following historical groups:
The Daefads
The Inghirsh
The Yothandi
The Ciriane 
Outside of modern Thedas, today, there’s very little to no cause to believe that the Chant of Light has reached the following groups (due to the fact that serious attempts at exploration beyond the known world has usually been thwarted by Blights, Qunari dreadnoughts, pirates etc), and in turn very little to nothing is known about their religious beliefs:
The Parladians: their witches cast powerful spells like cloaking magic. The Rivaini peoples’ origins are the island chains in the Boeric ocean, and the Parladian witches are reminiscent of Rivaini seers. Going by this and the fact that Rivaini people have been practising their beliefs involving the seers for millennia, it’s not a stretch to wonder if the Parladian religion is similar to Rivaini beliefs (pantheism, the Natural Order etc)
The Voshai: we know that they’re reverent somehow towards dwarves and that dwarves hold a place of profound power of some kind in their society
The Executors: we know they’re concerned about one god-like figure at least, the Dread Wolf
That’s everything I can think of rn ◕‿◕
(didn’t get too much into the specific details of each belief system because especially in the major cases you could easily write whole other posts on each one)
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Andrastian Design: Tapestry and Tryptich
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Even though there is tapestry of each cultural group all over DAI, it’s common to associate tapestry with Ferelden mainly. In game we mostly find in Ferelden houses some of these Tapestries, that like the Stained Glasses of the Chantry, narrate the story of Andraste. 
The main reason why I assume these are Ferelden-made is basically because, 1) we find them always inside houses and castles of Ferelden, and 2) by analysing their frame, they are associated with the Ferelden Wyvern.
The frame
Fist of all, let’s see the details of the frame: They are decorated with a beautiful colourful complex set of patterns: dots, geometrical lines, circles, swirls, half-circles, and star-like figures compound it. 
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On the top corners we find two different kind of owls. 
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Owls have always been part of Ferelden design because they belong to their alamari heritage, given the important role that the Lady of the Skies [represented as an owl too] have in the alamarri/avvar religion. Since they are also quite close to spirits, I would not be surprised if these owls are also a link to the Elvhenan [we know that a curious pair of birds can be found in the Hidden Armoury [Elven mountain ruins] and there are many owls in Skyhold [specially in the front gates and in the basement library that may or may not be related to the ancient elvhen presence in it] as well as in the Inverted Ward.
In the lower part of the frame, we find a Ferelden Wyvern, which are represented in several places throughout DAI. They are related to a non-official folktale of Andraste that we find in one of the books of World of Thedas. The tale is quite meaningless and shallow [more details in Crestwood]. This detail is the main reason why I think these tapestry are strongly Ferelden made.
The Story of Andraste
1-Unknown Event
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The first of all these tapestries is the one most difficult for me to understand. Based on the Chant of Light, it may represent the dark times alamarri were living; most of their territories were invaded by Tevinter, their resources were stolen and their people were kidnapped and turned into slaves. These strange harpy creatures may be a rare representation of Tevinter preying on Alamarri [it’s very strange since Tevinter is always represented with a snake or a dragon]
On the other hand, we see two bridges and a big elevated structure that makes me remember Ostagar, which was a Tevinter structure to keep the Chasind away from the invaded regions of Ferelden.  
Another interpretation is that this may represent the Golden City of the Maker, desecrated with the entrance of the Magisters. We have to remember that Andraste’s Tale comes half a century after the end of the First Blight. Still, it’s a weird representation since it’s not a floating city in the air, but a fortress in an island, with access through bridges, and there is water bellow.
We also know that by that time, Andraste called the Alamarri gods for help, but they remained silent [meaning, neither the Lady of the Sky, nor Korth, nor Hakkon answered her] and this scene may represent the despair that such situation may have caused.
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Finally, as a last interpretation, this structure may be Kinloch Hold, where the current circle of Magi of Ferelden is located. The original construction was built by the Avvar with some help from dwarves. It served as a fortress and a watchtower and was long considered impregnable until the Tevinter Imperium drove the Avvar from it in a brutal campaign. Maybe this image represents Kinloch Hold but surrounded by harpies and despair due to the lack of answer of the gods while the avvar were attacked by the Tevinter forces.
In any case, I can’t totally trust 100% any of these interpretation. The drawing is very strange for the lore we were given.
2- The Maker speaks to Andraste
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Without the answer of her gods, Andraste roamed the forest of Ferelden until the Maker appeared. Here we can see once more the figure of a man, without face, covered from toe to head, only wearing a crown. He is presented with a glow of green and golden, making his connection to the Fade a bit subtler in this drawing than in the Stained Glasses. 
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His veil has a pattern of what I think it’s a rose or a flower with vines, but sadly it’s not easy to see the details. I could not find a better quality image for a decent zoom-in.
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Over him, we see the moon with three borders, and I can’t avoid making a connection with the murals of Solas [Murals in DAI] where the Veil is represented with thick borders. This is very curious because in the other tapestries the moon appears like a normal element in the drawing, so this representation emphasises to the Player [not to the people inside Thedas] that there may be some special relationship with the moon. It’s also worth noting that the moon has a yellow/golden border same as the figure of the Maker, and golden decorations are usually related to godhood [at least inside the elvhenan context]. 
This scene represents the verses of Andraste 1 [Chant of Light - Part 1] where the Maker claims that the world has forgotten him, and invites Andraste to join him to the Golden City and leave the sorrow behind, but Andraste asks him to forgive humanity. He accepts, promising his return if his children listen to her.
3- With Maferath, Andraste leads the Exalted March against Tevinter
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Here, Andraste and Maferath lead an Exalted March against Tevinter in order to spread the word of the Maker and stop Tevinter oppression all over the alamarri lands. We see in this tapestry several alamarri warriors using a shield with the symbol of the Sun and hilts with wolf/mabari shapes. Again, the mabari is a Ferelden icon, while the Avvar prefer the wolf, since it’s an animal of freedom and not tamed as the hound [A Plea from the Warrior to the Spirits]. Depending on how we perceive the alamari around Andraste, this hilt can be also a subtle elvhen symbol of rebellion. I insist in relating the Avvar/alamari with the elvhen simply because their perception of the world of the spirits gave them similar wisdom than the Elvhenan.
Andraste is also wearing her typical one-spiked crown. Behind her we can see Maferath. She and Maferath wear a common element: a series of golden tiles around their chest or veil to emphasise the link they have: they are the leaders guided by divine words in this “divine” march against Tevinter. 
Also, notice how different the moon is represented in this tapestry in comparison with the previous one. 
4- Andraste fights in Tevinter territory
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This seems to be a depiction of a battle close to Minrathous. The background shows typical Tevinter buildings. On the left side of the tapestry we can see Tevinter warriors being killed by arrows [probably a subtle calling of Shartan presence], while Andraste, as a [superheroe] warrior, jumps in the air. 
Behind her, we see a lightning and a dark cloud, suggesting three potential things: when we read about the role of Shartan and the elves, their contribution is usually described as the responsible for creating “dark clouds of arrows that fall upon the enemy”. 
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The other interpretation, more andrastian, is that the Maker presence is there, helping them in battle. Finally, in the last interpretation, this cloud may be a representation of Andraste’s magical powers [in DAO we have the icon of Tempest looking similar to this: clouds and lightnings]. There is a glowing circle behind her face similar to the moon in the previous tapestry. These details may reinforce the idea of Andraste as a prophet of the Maker, or as a mage [specially if we read about her childhood with that strange episode of her half-sister dying in a fire, in the middle of the forest, implying that Andraste may have lost control of potential magical powers or was possessed by some spirit; the interpretations of this vague episode can go wild].
On the right side of the tapestry, I can see a statue that I suspect is of Nevarran origin [Egyptian-like design], meaning this battle may have been close to the borders of Tevinter and Nevarra.
Again, like in the post of Stained Glasses,  I don’t find a particular group of verses where Andraste narrates her movement across Ferelden, the Waking Sea, and Nevarra to attack Tevinter lands. The closest verse to this action is in Shartan Verses [Chant of Light - Part 2] but also historical battles are implied in Hymns and Transfigurations [Chant of Light - Part 1] where Andraste prays to the Maker before heading to combat. It is curious that there is no verses about the “travelling” part of Andraste and her armies, not even when crossing the Waking Sea and Nevarra in which land there are some tales going on as we saw in Emprise du Lion: Pools of the Sun with her supposed Nevarran disciple/lover Hector. In fact, in this local tale, the event of the betrayal is placed there, in Nevarra and not in front of Miranthous ready to lay a siege [hence my complete confusion about where exactly this betrayal happened, and if any siege to Miranthous truly happened].
5- Andraste is handed over to Tevinter
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In this scene we see when Maferath hands over Andraste to Tevinter. Since in the previous tapestry we see hints of Nevarra, and then we have this tapestry of the betrayal, we can assume that the tapestries narrate Andraste’s story in a way that makes Hector easy to be included [check Emprise du Lion: Pools of the Sun], while the Stained Glasses seem to remove any presence of Nevarra in her story. But the Stained Glasses have the presence of Shartan, which has been completely erased in these tapestries, making me suspect that maybe these tapestries keep the tale of Andraste with a strong Ferelden vision, probably closer to the most ancient versions of her tales [likely before the Long Walk of the free elves to the Dales, time when the tale of Shartan appears as we saw in The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light].
Here, we see Andraste being held by two Tevinter guys who look very evil. Like in the Stained Glasses, Havard is not here either. According to the Chant of Light, The Aegis Havard was supposed to be here, and unable to fight his Lord Maferath as well as to hand Andraste over to Tevinter, he puts himself in between Andraste and the evil Tevinter and ends up deadly wounded [Chant of Light - Part 2]. 
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In the shadows, representing the secret arrangement, we see Maferath giving a handshake to Archon Hessarian. 
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Behind them, a snake passes by: it has the tip of the tail golden, continues black, and then it turns out white. I’m not so sure if this means the transition of Archon Hessarian, from worshipping Old Gods, to kill Andraste, and then repent and became an Andrastian follower himself.
In the background, we see more Tevinter buildings with “evil” red glowing windows.
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The moon has a similar style to the one we saw in the tapestry with the Maker, but its borders are smudged. The colours seem to be the same ones but desaturated and muddy. 
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I’m not sure if this represents some “lack of presence of divinity” since Andraste’s golden tiles are also hidden below her hair, giving the idea that the Maker abandoned her.  She is not wearing her typical one-spiked crown either.
This tapestry represents the verse of Apotheosis 1 [Chant of Light - Part 2].
6- Andraste is killed
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In the next tapestry we see the public execution of Andraste in a pyre. The background shows Tevinter buildings, suggesting this is Minrathous.
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On the left we see Havard, the avvar warrior who is wearing a klimt-yellow robe. He is looking down, lamenting this situation. He is not “deadly wounded” as the Chant says. It seems that in this Ferelden version, Havard never was in the moment Maferath hands over Andraste, so he appears safe and sound at the moment of her execution.
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Close to Havard, we see a woman, kneeling as she cries, that maybe is Justinia, the original one. I guess this because it makes not much sense to add a random woman in this scene; all the characters present in this image have a relevance in the story of Andraste. 
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There is also a Tevinter man in black robes who also seems sad about this execution [Is this Trefir? the Archon’s slave who left Tevinter carrying the Sword of Mercy and was supposed to found the Blades of Hessarian?, more details in “The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light”]. I’m surprised of seeing another “sad Tevinter” considering this is made by Ferelden and one would expect a more anti-tevinter propaganda.
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In the centre we see Archon Hessarian, wearing a white robe, the same white that Andraste. This is very unusual given the typical dark outfit of the high hierarchy in Tevinter, so I’m inclined to interpret his figure here as “a purification” that the Archon experienced when he killed Andraste out of Mercy. If Andraste was purified by fire, the Archon was so by his merciful act. Again, a veeery rare representation of Tevinters, specially coming from a Ferelden source. As the Chant claims, he is sinking his sword in Andraste’s heart to give her a merciful death.  
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In the pyre, Andraste’s bleeds to death, tingeing her hair of red too. she still wears a minimal line of golden tiles. 
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On the right side of the tapestry, we see Maferath, leaving the scene with some facial gesture of regret, while holding in his hand a crown, that may represent the Maker, as if “he removed the Maker influence in this story”, or more likely, to “recover” his leadership of the alamarri. 
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I think this crown has one longer spike, so it may be Andraste’s crown, but it’s not the same crown that Andraste uses in previous tapestries, so the interpretation is a bit more loosely. Ferelden art depicts Andrates’ crown in very different ways.
The verse that this tapestry represents is Apotheosis 2 [Chant of Light - Part 2].
7- Andraste ascends
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Here we see the ascension of Andraste to the Maker’s side. Also, notice that this tapestry shows a normal moon too.
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The background displays two tree, one of them looking a bit like a thorny vine.  There is a sky full of stars.  An intense white light wraps her and makes her raise. She is wearing white, implying how the fire purified her. Below her, we see Maferath and Archon Hessarian, surprised.
The verse represented in this image is the last part of Apotheosis 2 [Chant of Light - Part 2].
8-Havard takes Andraste’s ashes
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In the last tapestry, we see Havard, wearing this iconic klimt-yellow robe, carrying Andraste’s ashes in the night, leaving Miranthous/Tevinter. We will know later that he went to the Frostback Mountains to build Haven, founding the Temple of Andraste that later will be developed into the Disciples of Andraste.  
The verse represented in this image is the last part of Apotheosis 2, [Chant of Light - Part 2],  even though it is curious that the Chant claims that Havard was healed by the ashes of Andraste, while we see in the tapestries that he was not even hurt. It’s also curious he looks more like a mage [yellow robe and staff] than an avvar warrior.
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Many of these tapestries, including this one, display small lines of green in the scenery as if it were mist, but they give an eerie feeling to the drawing, almost a subtle Fade-y effect.
The Orlesian Triptych
Why do we assume this is Orlesian? Simple: it’s not only over elaborated, it has a Quincunx design in it [more details below] which is present in the Orlesian design of rugs,
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 and has the typical triangular face of Orlais, that may represent Andraste [we find it in many sculptures of Orlais], Celene or Drakon’s Heraldry. I cannot point out exactly who is this triangular face, but all these options look reasonable in my opinion.
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The Orlesian triptych is focused on the execution of Andraste and her later ascension.
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At the top we see three iconic symbols in circles: in the centre, below the Orlesian face [or Drakon’s heraldry, I never know], we find a circle depicting the Golden City. At the right side, the typical icon of the six snakes with that little polygon in the middle, which used to be the typical symbol to represent Tevinter in a more “arcane” way [ check Nation Art: Tevinter]. 
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On the left side, we find a simplification of a Ferelden symbol we found in Nation Art: Ferelden, which shows a face crying. I assume this is a representation of Andaste’s face in a Ferelden style or a vestige of a Sun-based religion before the alamarri trinity religion.
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As apparently Orlesian design implies, the triptych shows the 3/4 of a Quincunx, completing the fourth circle on Andraste’s heart.  Therefore, the middle of the complete Quincunx would show the face of Andraste wearing her typical spiked crown. The Quincunx has been quite a repetitive element in DAO, being forgotten in later games. In DAI we only see it in Solas’ Tarot Card, and in some Orlesian designs that are seen in the concept art but not inside the game so far I’ve seen.
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Below the Ferelden symbol, we see Maferath. He is wearing a crown of three spikes, a bit squared. He can’t see the light that Andraste radiates. Ironically, he is drawn in a more darker and evil way than the Archon, which is surprising for me, since Orlais did not show a strong negative sentiment towards Maferath as Ferelden does [in the Hinterlands, we see in very raw sculptures the strong rejection that Ferelden has towards him in general]. Instead, I was expecting Orlais, headquarters of the Chantry religion, to be more negative towards Tevinter because their Imperial Church.
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Below the symbol of Tevinter, Archon Hessarian looks at Andraste, unbothered by the radiance, ready to use the sword as we can see his hand ready, close to the hilt of the sword at his waist.  A white snake is surrounding him, probably as a symbol of his change of heart that gave him some level of “cleansing”.
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The two panels are separated by a sword that lays over the burning body of Andraste: this is the Sword of Mercy that we see in many other pieces of art. Curiously, it’s the same sword that the Tevinter Warrior holds in the statues  Female Kossith/ Desire demon /Tevinter Warrior which decorate the columns of the Imperial Highway. This makes me suspect, in combination with such a positive view over Tevinter elements, that maybe this triptych is older than i expected, maybe older than the Schism of the Chantry. However, we have no information to confirm or debunk it, sadly. 
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When we open the Triptych, we can see Andraste, purified [wearing white] and the sun behind her.  
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This figure is a copy of the tapestry of the ascension of Andraste: I mean, from a design point of view, the designer copy-pasted the same Andraste and altered it a bit, meaning that one of these pieces of art if the copy of the other.
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On the left, we see the Ferelden side: Maferath is kneeling down, defeated, regretful, with his crown on his lap. 
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The Chantry hierarchy can be easily seen here represented by the three people lamenting Andraste’s death and looking down at Masferath: Sister/Brother and revered Mother. 
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Beside Andraste, we see the “white” Divine, the Divine with main residence in Orlais.
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On the right, we have the Tevinter side, mirroring the left side: we see  that Archon Hessarian is on the ground, regretful, in similar position to Maferath. He, as well as Maferath, wears a red cord in his head that was not present in Maferath’s head in the previous image. I don’t know what it could mean, since it stands out a lot in the drawing of dark and white colours.
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Behind him, we see a group of Tevinters that I assume belong to the hierarchy of the Imperial Chantry. Just by the outfit, we can see a magister, and probably a Revered Father and a sister. 
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I assume this one marked in the image is the magister simply because he wears similar to the Magister Erasthenes that we meet in Orlais: Shrine of Dumat.
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Beside Andraste, if I’m not mistaken, we can see the “Black” Divine, the imperial Divine. The curious helm he uses reminds me a lot of the mysterious symbol we found in Hinterlands: The Unknown Ruin.
Now, this Triptych is astonishing and mega-surprising for the presence of the Imperial Chantry in equality to the Orlesian Chantry, “Black” Divine included, since he’s considered a “false” divine. So, I think that this triptych, usually seen in Orlesian places, is quite subversive. I’m sad we don’t have much information about who painted it and when, because, again, to place the Imperial church in the same level than the orlesian Chantry, mirroring it no less, it’s very, very strange.
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redlyriumidol · 19 days
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It's interesting that Vasilia, one of the ghosts in the gauntlet (the wife of Archon Hessarian) already makes the justice-vengeance connection early on. "I am justice. I am vengeance. Blood can only be repaid in blood" She's more Flemythal coded than Andraste imo. Not that I think she was actually Flemythal but I do love how the line between justice/vengeance is such a recurring motif throughout the games.
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tabriscadash · 2 years
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thinking about redemption, revenge, and reparative justice (a la this post)...
I think that there is something to be said for the arc I wound up building for Kallian for the unlearning of violence and revenge. That’s not to say that either of these things are inherently bad (Marian’s is more learning to use these things for better/meaningful causes: self-care as opposed to self-harm, for example) ... but for Kallian, it does not ultimately always bring her peace. Vaughn was not undeserving of his fate -- but Kallian was undeserving of that trauma, and killing Vaughn was, ultimately, more traumatising than not. (Not her fault; but the systems).
Revenge -- and punitive justice, as a whole -- is built into Ferelden’s structure, and it makes sense, but I feel that it ultimately does more harm than good (Archon Hessarian’s wife in the Gauntlet said: “I am justice. I am vengeance. Blood can only be repaid in blood”. Blood must have blood is an inherently destructive ethos.)
Plus... killing Loghain would not bring Kallian the peace she needs - killing Vaughn did not - there would simply be the killing, yet more violence after violence, and then the silence that would follow...
and in the end - Loghain never gives her a sufficient apology, for his own reasons (and because the game refuses to expand upon the dialogue in any meaningful way and it KILLS me) - but giving Kallian the opportunity to build, as opposed to simply destroy, means a lot to & for her.
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vigilskeep · 6 months
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ELENI ZINOVIA WAS ARCHON HESSARIAN’S MOTHER
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arlathmyheart · 2 years
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Cory says inky interrupts a ritual years in the planning and acts like he has made the anchor? Yet it is not his orb? His ritual requires the divine…?
According to mother giselle and the chant it implies some truth in the myths
Solas really sounds like the maker/ guardian of the fade. If he was asleep it explains the silence. Otherwise the TN winged wolf already compares to the makers sullied my hall speech.
I think it is partly implied that darkspawn come about due to the initial creation of a magister made anchor. This must have marked the magisters. And/or corruption via abomination or blight/lyrium. Thinking of rift mage magic… inky gets touched by a spirit of faith? Possibly divine Justinia. Seekers are abominations?
The magisters attempt to breach the fade to gain means of magical immortality or power. It is said to be at the behest of the old god dragons… (forbidden ones/evanuris try free themselves?)
Solas makes a really big deal about being able to walk physically in the fade (dreaming world?) Which obviously requires the anchor. The inky is marked but lives not as a darkspawn.
I assume the name anchor is more relevant in that it ties part of the bearer back to the physical realm?
The timeline is killing me…
Timeline:
Ancient Elvhen wars and slavery - Fen harel rebellion
Stuff with titans and evanuris… Old Gods/forbidden ones?
Evanuris kill Mythal. They presumably would destroy the world…? I assume Titans are gonna be a big part of forming the physical world.
Solas creates the veil then sleeps - charging his orb
History happens…
Tevinter worship old gods using blood magic based on the neromenian (first human tribe) dreamers magic instructions from old gods (heroes reborn in dragon form like avaar, hakkon?)
‘It is written that Dumat himself rose from his prison as the first Archdemon. While the Chantry insists the darkspawn created the first Archdemon, some ancient lore says that Dumat created the first darkspawn and led them against Thedas. Either way, Old God faithful were betrayed to discover one of their deities could turn against them.’
Tevinter magisters enter golden city and create first blight with Dumat
Grey Wardens founded
Andraste is born year Dumat is slain, Probable OGB?
Cory captured - intelligent darkspawn exist
Andraste marries Maferath almarri chieftain ruler
Rise of the chant - the Maker exists says andraste
Cory sealed in vimmark mountains - no joy
Maferath vs tevinter
Tevinter war and slavery get worse
Maferath wins. Shartan joins at valerian fields
Maferath jealous of andraste and maker. Conspires with archon hessarian
Andraste betrayed and killed in minrathous
Harvard gathers her sacred ashes
Many lands split, long walk to dales for elves portion of land
Hessarian converts imperium to the chant and reveals maferaths betrayal
Anarchy. Lots of war, chant spreading
First inquisition founded, forced spreading cult of the maker
Drakon establishes the chantry
Second blight (Zazikel)
Creation of mage circles / templars
Wars. Bad for elves. Chantry spreads
Flemeth born?
Third blight (Toth)
Tevinter creates its own divine (andraste was a human mage not maker bride)
War with tevinter. Exalted marches
Fourth blight (Andoral)
Griffons and dragons pretty much extinct
Quinari trouble
Dragon age begins Maric on throne finally
Fifth blight (Urthemiel)
Battle of Ostogar/Hawke flees Lothering
HOF ends blight. Later kills mother/ architect?
Qunari uprising in Kirkwall
Stuff with hawke and darkspawn / Cory freed
Anders happens , red lyrium happens
Mage Templar war
Inquisition happens
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