9 réponses à ce sujet

[Aeyl]

First, be warned of lots of lore/potential spoilers (?)

Hey everyone, I'm sure this has been talked to death but I'm really interested in how the Black City will play into Inquisition (and how it has played into the other games as well!). Especially seeing as though the Fade and the Veil are central to Inquisition's storyline, it seems like a fun topic to discuss!

What has been going through my head most is the Black City and its connection to the Darkspawn/the Taint. 

They say it used to be golden, but as we know after Legacy, even before the Tevinter mages entered it, it was black. Which first means that something is wrong with the Chantry's version--after all, they blame the mages for its corruption-- and second opens up the question of what exactly resides there. We also know that the Black City has always been associated with powerful beings, whether in the form of the Old Gods or the Maker--which ones in particular is unclear.

The only thing we do know for certain is that the Black City is the source of the Taint and thus the origin of the Darkspawn. In Avernus' notes, not only do we learn that he strongly connects the Taint with the Black City ("In my dreams I see the Black City, and I am drawn towards it. There is something there, an answer to what the taint is.") we also learn that the Taint itself is a source of power foreign to demons of the Fade. This is big news.

Interestingly the Taint seems to display characteristics of dominance in and of itself. It is an existence that connects the Darkspawn, prevents sapience (Darkspawn were only able to gain sapience when exposed to the resistance carried by Grey Wardens' blood), and--in beings that already hold sapience--destroys it (Grey Wardens going insane, ghouls, etc.)

Now let's go back a bit and look at the history of the Black City and the Taint.

We know that--even though the city was already corrupted before the entry of the mages--the Blights only started after the mages entered the city and returned to Dumat (who seems to have manipulated them to do so). So it stands to reason that something must have been in the city before the arrival of the mages that consequently corrupted and controlled them. 

Looking at the way the Black City is situated in the Fade (always equidistant and hard to reach) as well as the aesthetics of the place (chains) it appears to me that maybe it was a prison for something powerful rather than a city.

My memory is a bit fuzzy so I hope I didn't miss anything important!

[Tielis]

Great thread, thanks!

 

My thought is that the mages got covered in something in the Black City and brought it back to reality.  "Spoiled" lyrium, perhaps?

[Dusksworn]

Eh.

 

I think people assume too much from what Corypheus said. He doesn't exactly give a detailed or entirely coherent account of what happened, and he seems to be remembering only as he is speaking.

 

It's entirely possible that the city was golden when he got there, but he just didn't mention it as the more important part he remembered was what it was like black.

 

We really need a better conversation with the man. There are a ton of other important details that he clearly leaves out in his narrative, and yet had to have happened. And he does noticeably leave out things that happened inbetween other things, as he skips immediately from being in the Black City to being put to sleep by the Grey Wardens, but the Grey Wardens originally found him conscious and active.

 

However, I do believe that the City contained a certain amount of some sort of divine essence. This power was then allowed to leak out with the Magisters. The Taint, being the "Power of the Gods" that the Magisters were looking for, allows beings to survive and grow without any sustenance and seems to grant them some form of immortality.

 

Personally, I like the idea that the Black City is home to something a lot like Azathoth.

[SomeoneStoleMyName]

I still stand by these as the most logical explanations:

Something or someone tricked the magisters into entering the black city posing as Dumat.

Whatever tricked them set the dark forces inhabiting the black city free. The black city was imo most likely a sort of prison containing some being or force (like the taint).
The city was never golden, but appeared golden to lure people there.

[Kieran G.]

In ancient times, only Fen'Harel could walk without fear among both our gods and the Forgotten Ones, for although he is kin to the gods of the People, the Forgotten Ones knew of his cunning ways and saw him as one of their own. And that is how Fen'Harel tricked them. Our gods saw him as a brother, and they trusted him when he said that they must keep to the heavens while he arranged a truce. And the Forgotten Ones trusted him also when he said he would arrange for the defeat of our gods, if only the Forgotten Ones would return to the abyss for a time. They trusted Fen'Harel, and they were all of them betrayed. And FenHarel sealed them away so they could never again walk among the People.

 

In the Elven religion the Creators heaven in located in the fade and is called "The Eternal City" so unless we've seen another city The Golden City and The Eternal city are most likely the same place. and to me this call into question the other part of the legend about the Old Gods. which maybe they are also one in the same and are the Forgotten Ones who are trapped underground.

 

So i think if we really are ever going to learn more stuff about the Black city or the Taint, we will be looking at a lot of Elven lore and Tevinter.

 

To me that then brings into question about The Forgotten One's and the "Abyss

[Dusksworn]

I still stand by these as the most logical explanations:

Something or someone tricked the magisters into entering the black city posing as Dumat.

Whatever tricked them set the dark forces inhabiting the black city free. The black city was imo most likely a sort of prison containing some being or force (like the taint).
The city was never golden, but appeared golden to lure people there.

That's if we assume that Corypheus was speaking clearly, which he most certainly was not. Nor was he giving us an accurate sequence of events, as he left out very important steps and phrased things in such a way that one could almost assume they hadn't occurred.

 

Except we know that they did. I'm mostly referring to the "Darkness ever since" line, as the Grey Wardens had found him as a self-aware and intelligent Darkspawn, yet he makes no mention of this happening. He is clearly not entirely in a clear headed state of mind, and he has left out details relevant to how things happened.

[EmperorKarino]

isn't there a thread for the black city theories already?

[Aren]

If  somthing  loses  the  graces  of  the  creator  then  only  the  corruption  remains,  when  the  maker  leave  his  city   the  city become  black.

[Tevinter Soldier]

That's if we assume that Corypheus was speaking clearly, which he most certainly was not. Nor was he giving us an accurate sequence of events, as he left out very important steps and phrased things in such a way that one could almost assume they hadn't occurred.

 

Except we know that they did. I'm mostly referring to the "Darkness ever since" line, as the Grey Wardens had found him as a self-aware and intelligent Darkspawn, yet he makes no mention of this happening. He is clearly not entirely in a clear headed state of mind, and he has left out details relevant to how things happened.

 

have you considered he may be referring to being a darkspawn?

as in darkness is an allegory for his life after entering the city?

[Dusksworn]

have you considered he may be referring to being a darkspawn?

as in darkness is an allegory for his life after entering the city?

Oh yes, I've considered that.

 

However, that does nothing to change the fact that he wasn't talking in a clear manner. You could get the gist of what he was saying, but I wouldn't make any assumptions past that. Until he gives a better account of what happened, I see no reason to jump to conclusions past what we have good evidence for.