This is the third article in a series of Psuedo-scholarship I decided to perform on the topic of DA lore. The first two, definitely worthy of a look for a DA enthusiast are on Flemeth and the Old Gods. There are going to be two more with one on Dark Spawn and the other on Andraste. The articles are designed to explore unambiguous facts we know and some very precise conclusions that can be drawn from them. I will add some of my speculations, of course, but I will point them out as such.
The central conjecture here is that Arlathan IS the Black city. But not directly.
All roads lead to Arlathan
"Listen closely O' worthy patron..of a tale as ancient as Thedas and know that its words are intervined in the very fabric of our being. Know then that, Once upon a time there was a Fair city called Arlathan.... Situated at the very center of the world, it was the beacon of all art, magic and culture... There lived the Eldest of the elves, who would visit it when discussing matters of utmost curiosity and exchange lores of the Fade.. There they would go to sleep and walk the dreams under the ever-changing vistas beyond the veil...." - (me :innocent:)
This was Arlathan. The center of elven civilization. Elves, not immortal, but unchanging, were its masters. Did they build Arlathan? We do not know. But Arlathan was the place of rest for their eldest to ponder and discuss and to sleep forever into death.... For immortality is not only a boon but also a curse. Though their body never aged, their minds remained sharp, their spirit crumbled... The timelessness of their life made them slow to react and slow to reach decisions. To escape an agonizing cycle of life they would finally be laid to rest here.
It is actually possible to theorize where Arlathan is. If the continent of Thedas is the World of elves then the center of the world is the silent plains. It has a distinct border, surrounded by mountains with a depression in the center. (WINK WINK POINT POINT. FORESHADOWING IN PROGRESS) *FORESHADOW 1.
Elves claim that Humans came to Thedas from elsewhere.. though they make a claim that Humans arrived from the North, they mention something very very interesting. They say, "They (humans) came to a land they had never come before". This may be taken literally as having come from the North OR could be that Humans were brought into being later.
The elves found to their horror that when they interacted with Humans they started becoming like them (some kind of infectious disease like condition: WINK, WINK, POINT POINT. FORESHADOWING IN PROGRESS!!!!). So they stopped contact with humans and shut themselves up in their homes. * Foreshadow 2.
The Rise of the Imperium
The humans formed tribes that eventually gave rise to the Tevinter Imperium in the north. The TI occaisionally traded with the Elves but were never actually allowed the complete taste of Elven wealth. What perhaps made them particularly jealous was the Elven Immortality. Elves fearful of being robbed off exactly that by a prolonged contact, refused to entertain any further exchange.
At this juncture the unthinkable happened. The humans who knew only mildly of Magic suddenly came to know of Powerful blood magic from an unknown source. Some claim it was elves who taught them but some others claim that it was the Old Gods. Humans were always able to dream... and wander into the fade. Some were alredy becoming magicians able to work wonders. But when elves refused to share their secrets with the TI, the TI started capturing any Elves they found and torturing them for information and found about Lyrium. Thus was that the first Dreamers, the proginators of the magisters found a way into the fade without dreaming. And there, they met the Old Gods.
I belive that The Old Gods promised the Imperium Immortality. They had always lusted for it ever since they saw the Elven changelessness. The Old Gods were Dragon form creatures imprisoned deep beneath the earth in some unknown age, by unknown (to us) hands. They taught the Human dreamers Magic, particularly powerful blood magic. They probably goaded them to attack Arlathan. Could it be that they made a deal of Immortality in exchange for the fall of Arlathan? Would the fall of the elven city free them? We don't know. But magisters who become extremely powerful after interaction with Old Gods soon were the rulers of the TI.
The fall of Arlathan.
Thus began the worship of the Dragon-form Old-Gods. These were not spiritual deities, but were very real and communicated to the Magisters in the fade. Empowered by the Blood magic the magisters rampaged through the elven lands, mercilessly enslaving elves they found. Finally they reached the walls of Arlathan. It is told that in this siege the TI was assisted even by dragons! Such
was their mastery. They laid the city siege for 6 years. If one thinks clearly, this is a VERY long period for a siege to persist. This would mean that the city was
not simply a common walled town, it was HUGE and had its own means of
water and food. Perhaps the TI magisters grew tired of the long wait and
evoked a powerful blood magic and literally SANK the city underground
along with its inhabitants. Could it be that some escaped this fate? It
may be that the future will reveal some survivors?
This sinking may have rendered the entire siege moot as the Magisters never managed to enter the city (even though the Elven codex for Arlathan says otehrwise). I guess that this "victory" drove the Old Gods nuts, as with the city their salvation also went bye bye. What with the sleeping and no television. So they became desperate and went for the final option.
The City in the fade
Arlathan was perhaps a special place. The fade is an everchanging realm had but one constant feature... A city that was situated in the very center of the fade. There was no way to reach it. No paths led there and all isles of the fade were equally far from it. But it was visible from everywhere.... The spirits or the demons never approached it either... out of fear or inability we do not know.. Was it ever golden? I would have given DA programmers 500 sovereigns to have this question asked to Justice.... ( cruel cruel Mr. Gaider).
It is highly possible that this city was a reflection of Arlathan in the Fade. The true Arlathan was buried into the earth but the city, but its dream counterpart endured....the borders of the Black city are indeed of the same shape as the depression in the silent plains... (now you why it is called Foreshadow 1). The true Arlathan was the center of the world. The black city was the center of the Fade.
Perhaps the only way to reach the sunken Arlathan was to physically enter the shadow Arlathan and renter the mortal world. Thus the mage could enter inside the buried Arlathan in the mortal world and free the Old Gods. They even convinced elves (renegades?) to help them achieve this goal... Did they promise them freedom? Did they promise then return of their immortality? Why did the leves help their very conquerors? The result of this union was several sites of experimentation, where magical mirrors were built to see the true Arlathan in the earth.
Then was a great amount of Lyrium spent and hundreds of slaves sacrificed for Magisters as they tore open the veil and entered the fade themselves. They managed to open portals directly into the shadow Arlathan.... But there was something that awaited them. Something they did not expect.... A taint, so dark that it corrupted them entirely... they were thrown back violently into the mortal world.. perhpas even appearing in the city of Arlthan... Did they trigger something in the Mortal city? The truth is hidden, but they began to hear the melodious sound of the Old Gods. And thus they reached out to find them and free them, but corrupting them in the process.... Did the Old Gods plan this? Did they know what awaited the magisters in the City? We do not know. But one thing is sure: The sunken Arlathan has now become the very center of darkspawn corruption, with the taint from the Black city seeping constantly into it...
The times of great speculation:
Riiight. So the Black city is Arlathan is what I think. But there is more than that I want to conjecture. I propose:
Elves->Humans->Darkspawn. All manufactured in the Black/Golden city...
You ask, HOW?
There is a clue which I pointed out in foreshadow 2:
Elves get human traits when they come in contact with humans. Humans get Darkspawn traits when they come in contact with Darkspawn. This is too important a fact to ignore. It means that somone/thing in the Black city produces evolutionary beings from previous models that have the power of retro-transforming older models....!!
Sounds crazy but could be true.
Speculations invited!
The Rise of the Black City OR the Fall of Arlathan
Débuté par
Guest_SirShreK_*
, juil. 17 2010 12:19
Retour en haut
#2
Posté 17 juillet 2010 - 08:51
David Gaider
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- BioWare Employees
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- 4 514 messages
Interesting theories.
The only thing I'll say is that the Silent Plains are where the climactic battle of the First Blight took place-- they've remained tainted ever since, a permanently blighted place. So if you're assuming the Silent Plains are perhaps like that because of Arlathan, you would be incorrect.
The only thing I'll say is that the Silent Plains are where the climactic battle of the First Blight took place-- they've remained tainted ever since, a permanently blighted place. So if you're assuming the Silent Plains are perhaps like that because of Arlathan, you would be incorrect.
