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The Anderfels is a kingdom in northwestern Thedas. It is located north of Nevarra and Orlais and west of the Tevinter Imperium. The Anderfels is best known for being the birthplace of the Grey Wardens and the site of their headquarters, Weisshaupt Fortress.

History[]

Anderfels heraldry

Anderfels heraldry[1]

An old name for the land of Anderfels is Orthland.[2] The Anderfels was originally the western part of the Tevinter Imperium, from which it separated after a rebellion in -695 Ancient (500 TE).[3] It was reconquered by Tevinter in -535 Ancient (660 TE).[4] The warrior order of the Drasca was formed to resist the Imperial reconquest. They were known for their whirling blades and archery skills. The Tevinter forces hunted the Drasca, and eventually the last surviving members of the order fled into the Blasted Hills in southern Anderfels.[5] After almost 100 years of bitter war with the darkspawn during the First Blight, the order of the Grey Wardens was founded and in -305 Ancient (890 TE) Weisshaupt was built. The Blight was then slowly pushed back during the next century or so.[6]

After the First Blight, Tevinter held on to the Anderfels for about 200 years, but abandoned it in an effort to protect central Tevinter when the Second Blight began in 1:05 Divine (1199 TE).[7] The Blight broke out in the Anderfels along the western mountains, and the city of Hossberg was hit first.[8] The Anderfels was nearly destroyed by the Blight, but saved by Emperor Kordillus Drakon, starting with the lifting of the siege of Weisshaupt in 1:33 Divine, and joined to the Orlesian Empire as well as converted to Andrastianism.[9] After the death of Drakon, his successor Kordillus II could not hold the empire together and the Anderfels broke free again in 1:65 Divine.[10] It's rumoured that members of the Drasca who persisted in hiding played a part in the rebellion against the Orlesian rule.[5] The Second Blight ended in 1:95 Divine.[11][12]

The Third Blight from 3:10 Towers to 3:25 Towers mostly maimed areas to the south and east of the Anderfels, starting in Tevinter and Orlais and ending in the Free Marches at the Battle of Hunter Fell. The Anderfels were largely unaffected. Grey Wardens in Weisshaupt pressured Orlais and Tevinter Imperium to send forces to the Free Marches to end the Blight.[13]

In 5:12 Exalted, the Fourth Blight began and spread to the Anderfels; the darkspawn laid siege to Hossberg for seven years. During the fighting King Henault was killed by an ogre, causing his wife, Queen Mariwen, to take up regency for her son, King Grivaud, who was an infant at the time. However, since most of the nobles did not support her, most power laid with the Grey Wardens, specifically Warden-Commander Uvasha. Under the leadership of their Field-Commander Garahel, the Wardens managed to break the siege after cutting off the darkspawns' supply lines from the Deep Roads. After the siege was broken, Queen Mariwen pledged to continue to support the war effort, in exchange for Garahel publicly supporting her reign (and subsequently sleeping with her). The Blight was again decided elsewhere, this time in eastern Antiva in 5:24 Exalted.[14]

Geography[]

Anderfels vista

The grim landscape of the Anderfels[15]

The arid landscape of the Anderfels experiences dangerously hot summers. During cooler months dust storms blow inland and make farming all but impossible.[15] A notable exception is pig farming. Despite the harsh conditions, pigs farmed in Anderfels territory survive surprisingly well and produce good yields of meat.[16]

Geographically, the Anderfels consists mostly of steppes, largely deserted after weathering the most severe Blights. The capital is Hossberg, located northwest from Weisshaupt. The area is bordered by the Wandering Hills and the Donarks to the north; the Colean Sea to the east, and the Tevinter Imperium to the southeast. Also on its southern borders lies beneath the Hunterhorn Mountains the great thaig of Kal-Sharok, once capital of the dwarven empire. On the west lies harsh and uninhabited territory ending on the Volca Sea with the sole port town of Laysh lying on its shores. The entire purpose of Laysh was to receive ships from Volca Sea, odd-looking cargo vessels that would arrive laden with wares and spices which cannot be found in Thedas. This trade stopped by the early Black Age which caused Laysh's decline. Several Tevinter merchant houses banded together to mount an expedition and reestablish trade but all of them and the few vessels that followed did not return which faded all interest for the people across the Volca Sea.[17]

According to Ander legend these traders are called Voshai and they were hostile towards the people of Laysh, completely uninterested in learning the King's tongue for anything more than barter and were obsessed with purchasing lyrium. According to those legends the captains of each ship were dwarves and they were treated with such deference that it implied they held profound power in their society. No elves were working on the Voshai ships. Based on questionable reports in recent years many Voshai ships have returned to Laysh carrying tales of a "massive cataclysm" in their homeland.[17]

Settlements[]

  • Eichweill
  • Geltberg[18]
  • Hossberg – capital of the Anderfels
  • Kassel
  • Laysh
  • Nordbotten
  • Sundarin
  • Tallo
  • Tallo's Eye

Qunari colonies[]

Fortresses[]

Regions[]

  • The Blasted Hills – on the border of Orlais; the last surviving members of the Drasca fled into these hills after unsuccessful attempts to stop the Tevinter reconquest of the Anderfels in -535 Ancient;[5] in the Orlesian part of the Blasted Hills there's a castle where the Seekers of Truth may undergo their vigil[20]
  • Blightlands
  • Broken Tooth – a jagged butte; Weisshaupt Fortress is built on its edge[21]
  • Feral Fjords
  • Hunterhorn Mountains
  • Merdaine[22][23]
  • Sternann Peak[18]
  • The Wandering Hills – home of the Orth people
  • The Weathered Pass

Rivers[]

  • Lattenfluss

Notable sites[]

  • Our Lady of the Anderfels – a giant white sculpture of Andraste, holding an eternal flame, carved into the Merdaine near Weisshaupt[15]

"A land filled with wonders like the Merdaine, with its gigantic white statue of Our Lady carved into its face, her hands outstretched and bearing an eternal flame." Genitivi's words, brief as they were, inspired me. The stone prophet sounded magnificent. I had to see her for myself.

I trekked up the Imperial Highway, concealing my identity and taking care not to seem like a foreigner. At Vol Dorma, a neglected road led west. Soon the dry land gave way to absolute desolation. Red earth. Bones. Blowing sand stripped my face raw. When it cleared, I could see for miles—not that there was anything to see. The few settlements I encountered were populated with derelicts and Chantry zealots. They warned me of worse trials, should I continue to the Merdaine.

Eventually I turned back, opting for a smaller statue in a place the Maker hadn't abandoned.

Brother Berard, Perendale Chantry cleric[15]
  • Red Bride's Grave (formerly known as Red Bride's Shrine) – a cavern system that was once home to a religious order; during the Blessed Age the monks came under attack from darkspawn; one of the monks then probably summoned a demon to defend them, causing the whole order to die and being raised again as undead; it is said, that it inspired the construction of the Lady of the Anderfels[24]
  • Lattenflus River – the river runs south of Hossberg and was the site of an important battle during the Fourth Blight, when the Wardens broke the Siege of Hossberg[25]

Culture and society[]

Grey Warden Green Ronin

Kilina, a Warden recruiter, one of the Orth people from the Wandering Hills in the Anderfels

The people of Anderfels are known as Anders. An old name for Anderfels is Orthland, and due to this an old name for its people is Orth.[2]

BioWare canon
The following information is only mentioned in Dragon Age Tabletop. Certain portions of this media may no longer reflect currently established lore.

However in recent times, Orth has come to refer to people living in the Wandering Hills region of Anderfels, who practice scarification of their faces as a part of their culture.[26][27]

Grey Wardens[]

Anderfels houses the headquarters of the Grey Wardens, Weisshaupt Fortress. The king resides in Hossberg and generally ignores the citizens of the Anderfels as he is mainly interested in maintaining the order and comfort of the capital city to the exclusion of anything else. This distant monarch is protected by royal tribunals who also function to enforce the laws he creates; being a highly religious nation, these tribunals administer justice for the sake of "absolution".[28] According to Riordan, the king of the Anderfels is weak and the people refer to the Grey Wardens for leadership. He also states that there are over a thousand Wardens present in the Anderfels.[29] The Anderfels is the last place where the Grey Wardens have retained their importance over the centuries. They hold political power equal to an Orlesian baron or Fereldan teyrn,[15] a power they have recently taken greater advantage of.

Stationed at Weisshaupt, the First Warden is intended to be the commander of all Grey Wardens throughout Thedas, though in practice the entanglements of Anders politicking leave this individual functioning mainly as a figurehead. This results in considerable responsibility being laid at the feet of the regional Warden-Commanders.[15] One of the tasks of the First Warden is to act as adviser to the preoccupied king in matters of state. Intriguingly, the First Warden has recently begun to criticize the nation's monarchy, suggesting that the leader of the Wardens is considering a grab for the throne.[15]

Outside of the cities, most Anders live in small but self-sufficient outposts and villages. The importance of the Wardens to the Anderfels is shown here as they are the only real source of authority in such remote areas and maintain some presence even in the distant and thinly peopled hinterlands.[28]

Anders are the only non-dwarven people to fight the darkspawn on a regular basis as they remain a constant menace and can appear almost anywhere at anytime. As a result, the population lives in constant fear and vigilance. No child of the Anderfels grew up without being terrorized by bedtime tales of darkspawn.[30] The Anders became hardened warriors who fight grimly against an enemy that they cannot defeat: the rest of Thedas is remote enough that their plight is easily ignored. They are a poor people who live in a devastated land of vast, stark steppes, though their proud culture remains. Unlike Orlais and Tevinter Imperium, a person's accomplishments count for more in the Anderfels than their name.[31]

The "Green Men" order leads caravans through the Wandering Hills to the distant port of Laysh and comprise the best marksmen in Thedas.[32]

Religion[]

The Anders are likely the most pious followers of the Chantry in Thedas, praying for a day when they are released from the clutches of the Blight. The Chantry's presence is felt strongly in the country and worship of the Maker is expected of a citizen. Even the king's laws are seen as having religious underpinnings and their violation can be punishable with death in Hossberg.[15] Notably, the king is known to employ assassins for the sole purpose of assassinating disgraced men and women—called absolution—as penance for those who break the Maker's laws and fall into sin and decadence.[33] Because of this, the Anderfels are known to have produced some notable killers. In the Anderfels, like Orlais and parts of Tevinter, cairns are set up as memorials for the deceased (like in most of Thedas, the body itself is burned). The Anders however, do not include the deceased's weapon in the cairn, as weapons are considered too valuable to be left with the dead.[34]

Art[]

The Anderfels is also famed for its art. The sculptures of Ander artisans, which usually have religious content, are the most prized and sought-after in all of Thedas, especially within circles of the Orlesian nobility who would pay exorbitant prices in order to have them. However, members of the Dwarven Merchants' Guild who act as the middle party in these transactions keep most of the profits as "handling fees" while the artisans receive very little, if any.[15] In recent times, the traditional Ander portraiture style has experienced a resurgence in popularity thanks to the work of Griselda Reiniger. Her piece, The Chant of Light, which portrays Andraste playing the lap harp the night before being burned at the stake, won the annual art contest held by the University of Orlais and is considered both a stroke of inspirational genius and a masterwork portrait from one of the most traditional painting schools. Reiniger is currently one of the most sought-after artists, especially since her extreme piety has granted her the support of the Chantry.[35]

Food[]

Smoked Ham from the Anderfels notoriously tastes of despair, though this is only rumor or on word of the importers.[36][37] Owing to how much pigs farmed in the Anderfels thrive, these hams are notably large and make for a tasty meal. One glaze for this ham is made of apricots and apples.[38] Another is made from wild flowers and well-seasoned, and renders the ham it is applied to as hard as jade.[39][40] Nordbotten Fruit Stew is a sweet popular beverage, made from rehydrating dried fruit.[41]

Notable Anders[]

For a complete list, see Category:Anders.
Note: The list below can include people of either Anders ancestry or Anders nationality.
Andersedited

Anders, an apostate Grey Warden

Mistress Woolsey

Woolsey, in charge of the treasury in Amaranthine

  • Anders
  • Prince Baldewin Augustin – son and sole heir of King Wilhelm Augustin[42]
  • Duchess Catrin of Hossberg – wife of Emperor Judicael Valmont I[43]
  • Griselda Reiniger
  • King Grivaud – King Henault's son and successor; born 5:16 Exalted[14]
  • Countess Helmine of Sundarin[44]
  • King Henault – King during the Fourth Blight; killed by an ogre in 5:17 Exalted[14]
  • King Johann the Great[44]
  • Enchanter Kessa Enos of the Hossberg Circle of Magi[45]
  • Baroness Liese of Kassel[44]
  • Queen-Regent Mariwen – King Henault's wife; assumed the regency on behalf of her young son[14]
  • Talisa of Sundarin[46]
  • Commander Uvasha – Lady-Commander of the Anderfels Royal Army during the Fourth Blight[14]
  • Valya
  • King Wilhelm Augustin – King in 9:41 Dragon[42]
  • Woolsey
  • Senior Enchanter Verend of the Hossberg Circle of Magi[47]
BioWare canon
The following information is only mentioned in Dragon Age Tabletop. Certain portions of this media may no longer reflect currently established lore.

Language[]

The language used in Anderfels is called Ander.[49] As the Anders people were the first to fight the darkspawn on the surface, it is from their language that genlock and hurlock received their names.[50]

Codex entries[]

Codex entry: The Anderfels Codex entry: The Anderfels
Codex entry: The First Warden Codex entry: The First Warden
Codex entry: Absolution Codex entry: Absolution
Codex entry: Boots of the Frozen Wastes Codex entry: Boots of the Frozen Wastes

Trivia[]

  • The name Anderfels is of German origin, roughly meaning other rock (anders = other/different; Fels = rock). Similarly, other Ander names such as Weisshaupt and Kassel are actual German surnames and city names, respectively. Additionally, several of the inhabitants and locations listed above are of Germanic origin.

References[]

  1. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 7
  2. 2.0 2.1 BSN Woo, Stanley (October 24, 2011). "Who are theOrth?" . The BioWare Forum. Retrieved on April 12, 2014.
  3. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 24
  4. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 26
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Helm of the Drasca
  6. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 32
  7. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 61
  8. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 156
  9. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 66
  10. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, pp. 67, 70
  11. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 71
  12. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, pp. 156-157
  13. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, pp. 157-158
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Last Flight Chapter 13
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 74
  16. Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas, p. 95
  17. 17.0 17.1 Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 132
  18. 18.0 18.1 Note: Lyrium Manifest
  19. BSN David Gaider"Map of the whole of Thedas" . The BioWare Forum. Retrieved on December 3, 2009.
  20. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 221
  21. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 154
  22. Codex entry: The Anderfels
  23. Codex entry: The Black Emporium
  24. Dragon Age: Last Flight, Chapter 20
  25. Dragon Age: Last Flight,
  26. Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Game Master's Guide, set 2, p. 54
  27. Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Core Rulebook, p. 374
  28. 28.0 28.1 Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 73
  29. Riordan, when asked about the Wardens' organization in Arl of Redcliffe's Estate: [There] are certainly a few dozen or hundred [Grey Wardens] in every nation in Thedas. The Anderfels are home to over a thousand.
  30. Dragon Age: Last Flight, Chapter 1
  31. Dragon Age: Last Flight, Chapter 7
  32. Grunsmann's Bow
  33. Codex entry: Absolution
  34. Dragon Age: Last Flight,
  35. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 189
  36. According to both a conversation with an elven servant in Mark of the Assassin and Dorian after visiting The Winter Palace.
  37. Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas, p. 95
  38. Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas, p. 95
  39. Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas, p. 95
  40. The Jade Ham
  41. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 291
  42. 42.0 42.1 A Favor Returned
  43. Note: Halamshiral Investigation - Clues (Grand Library)
  44. 44.0 44.1 44.2 Edgewise
  45. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 173
  46. Codex entry: The Celebrant
  47. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 173
  48. Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Game Master's Guide, set 2
  49. Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Player's Guide, set 1, p. 37
  50. Dragon Age II: The Complete Official Guide, p. 247
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