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{{Quote|Its gates forever shut.<br>Heaven has been filled with silence,<br>I knew then,<br>And cross'd my heart with shame.<br>—Andraste 1:11}}
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<onlyinclude>{{CharacterTransformer
 
<onlyinclude>{{CharacterTransformer
 
|style = {{{style|}}}
 
|style = {{{style|}}}
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|px =
 
|px =
 
|gender = Female
 
|gender = Female
|family = [[Brona]] <small>(mother)</small> <br> [[Maferath]] <small>("mortal" husband)</small> <br> [[The Maker]] <small>("spiritual" husband)</small> <br> Ebris <small>(daughter)</small> <br> Vivial <small>(daughter)</small> <br> Isorath <small>(adopted son)</small> <br> Evrion <small>(adopted son)</small> <br> Verald <small>(adopted son)</small> <br> Alli Vemar <small>(granddaughter)</small>
+
|family = [[Brona]] <small>(mother)</small> <br> Elderath <small>(father) </small> <br> Halliserre <small> (half-sister) </small> <br> [[Maferath]] <small>("mortal" husband)</small> <br> [[The Maker]] <small>("spiritual" husband)</small> <br> Ebris <small>(daughter)</small> <br> Vivial <small>(daughter)</small> <br> Isorath <small>(adopted son)</small> <br> Evrion <small>(adopted son)</small> <br> Verald <small>(adopted son)</small> <br> Alli Vemar <small>(granddaughter)</small>
 
|class =
 
|class =
 
|title = Bride of the Maker <br> Prophet <br> Our Lady Redeemer <br> Lady of Sorrow
 
|title = Bride of the Maker <br> Prophet <br> Our Lady Redeemer <br> Lady of Sorrow
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|appearances = Historical
 
|appearances = Historical
 
}}</onlyinclude>
 
}}</onlyinclude>
 
{{Quote|Its gates forever shut.<br>Heaven has been filled with silence,<br>I knew then,<br>And cross'd my heart with shame.<br>—Andraste 1:11}}
 
   
 
'''Andraste''' is the prophet whose teachings later served as the foundation for the formation of the [[Chantry]], which later becomes the dominant religion of [[Thedas]]. She was the spiritual wife of the [[Maker]], the being whom the Chantry worships.
 
'''Andraste''' is the prophet whose teachings later served as the foundation for the formation of the [[Chantry]], which later becomes the dominant religion of [[Thedas]]. She was the spiritual wife of the [[Maker]], the being whom the Chantry worships.
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== Background ==
 
== Background ==
 
{{Quote|And thus fell the eye of the Maker upon Andraste, she who would be raised up from outcast to become His bride. From her lips would fall the Chant of Light, at her command would the legions of righteousness fall upon the world.<ref>As recited from the Chant of Light by [[Maric Theirin]] in ''[[Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne]]'', p. 38.</ref>}}
 
{{Quote|And thus fell the eye of the Maker upon Andraste, she who would be raised up from outcast to become His bride. From her lips would fall the Chant of Light, at her command would the legions of righteousness fall upon the world.<ref>As recited from the Chant of Light by [[Maric Theirin]] in ''[[Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne]]'', p. 38.</ref>}}
According to some scholars, Andraste was born at -203 [[Ancient Age|Ancient]] (992 TE) in [[Denerim]], which was then a fishing village. Her mother was an [[Alamarri]]<ref>[[Codex entry: Andraste: Bride of the Maker]]</ref> woman named [[Brona]] and her father was the chieftain of one of the largest Alamarri tribes in what is now northern Ferelden,<ref name="wot111">{{Cite wot|111}}</ref> Andraste was a woman who rose to greatness first as a [[Slavery|slave]] of the [[Tevinter Imperium]], then as a prophet, war leader, and religious icon.
+
According to some scholars, Andraste was born into the Ciriane tribe in -203 [[Ancient Age|Ancient]] (992 TE) in [[Denerim]], which was then a fishing village. Her mother was an [[Alamarri]]<ref>[[Codex entry: Andraste: Bride of the Maker]]</ref> woman named [[Brona]] and her father was the chieftain of one of the largest Alamarri tribes in what is now northern Ferelden.<ref name="wot111">{{Cite wot|111}}</ref> Her sister Haliserre dying in a violent incident under mysterious circumstances left Andraste with a sickness that made her unable to bear children for a decade. She also was known to display strange behavior such as become still for long moments in an trance-like state, after which she would report voices as if from a lost memory, talk of strange auras or the sound of bells.<ref>{{Cite wot2|18}}</ref> Andraste was a woman who rose to greatness first as a [[Slavery|slave]] of the [[Tevinter Imperium]], then as a prophet, war leader, and religious icon.
   
 
[[File:Andraste and Maker WoT.jpg|thumb|184px|Andraste's vision of the Maker.<ref name="wot112">{{Cite wot|112}}</ref>]]
 
[[File:Andraste and Maker WoT.jpg|thumb|184px|Andraste's vision of the Maker.<ref name="wot112">{{Cite wot|112}}</ref>]]
 
{{See Also|Tears of Andraste}}
 
{{See Also|Tears of Andraste}}
According to the legend, before the Maker spoke to Andraste, she despaired at the fate of her fellows. At that time, every night, her husband, [[Maferath]] would come to console her and each time Andraste would tell him her despair while shedding a single tear which Maferath captured in a vial. In the thirtieth night the vial was full and when dawn came Andraste saw her first vision of the Maker. Even though this legend is popular and has passed on for ages, a part of it isn't in the [[Chant of Light]].<ref>This legend is mentioned by [[Slim Couldry]] when acquiring [[The Tears of Andraste]] sub-quest.</ref>
+
According to the legend, before the Maker spoke to Andraste, she despaired at the fate of her fellows. At that time, every night, her husband, [[Maferath]] would come to console her and each time Andraste would tell him her despair while shedding a single tear which Maferath captured in a vial. On the thirtieth night the vial was full, and when dawn came Andraste saw her first vision of the Maker. Even though this legend is popular and has passed on for ages, a part of it isn't in the [[Chant of Light]].<ref>This legend is mentioned by [[Slim Couldry]] when acquiring [[The Tears of Andraste]] sub-quest.</ref>
   
From an early age, Andraste suffered troubling dreams of a god known as the Maker.<ref name="wot111"/> Over time she began to interpret these dreams as the answer to questions that plagued her, and she came to understand that the Maker was the supreme being who had abandoned the world when his people took up the worship of the Old Gods, those beings worshipped in particular by the Tevinter Imperium. According to Chantry canon, after having fled the Imperium and marrying the warlord Maferath, Andraste appealed to the gods<ref>[[Codex entry: The Avvars]], specifically, their religion.</ref> but her prayers went unanswered. She would sing, and one day the Maker, enchanted by her voice, invited her to join Him at His side. She instead encouraged Him to return to humanity and forgive them, compelling her fellow Alamarri and others to accept the one true god of Thedas.
+
From an early age, Andraste suffered troubling dreams of a god known as the Maker.<ref name="wot111" /> Over time she began to interpret these dreams as the answer to questions that plagued her, and she came to understand that the Maker was the supreme being who had abandoned the world when his people took up the worship of the Old Gods, those beings worshipped in particular by the Tevinter Imperium. According to Chantry canon, after having fled the Imperium and marrying the warlord Maferath, Andraste appealed to the gods<ref>[[Codex entry: The Avvars]], specifically, their religion.</ref> but her prayers went unanswered. She would sing, and one day the Maker, enchanted by her voice, invited her to join Him at His side. She instead encouraged Him to return to humanity and forgive them, compelling her fellow Alamarri and others to accept the one true god of Thedas.
   
To the world, Andraste was an escaped slave from the Tevinter Imperium who came to power after the [[First Blight]] had ended and the [[archdemon]] [[Dumat]] was slain. She fought against the Imperium, which had been significantly weakened by the First [[Blight]]. As part of the [[Exalted Marches]], she conquered most of the south while fighting to destroy the [[magister]]s, whom she blamed for the Blight. The people she led in her campaign were the barbarian ancestors of the Fereldans, the Alamarri. She also joined forces with the elven leader and former slave [[Shartan]] and his people as they shared a common enemy in the Imperium. To the Imperium, Andraste was an opportunist, a barbarian taking advantage of their weakness. She led her rebellion against the Tevinter Imperium in the first Exalted March under the Maker's sanction. Andraste's March was greatly successful due in part to several unfortunately concurrent natural disasters, including droughts, famines and flooding, which decimated the Imperium's farmland and, consequently, troops—a form of divine punishment, which Disciple [[Cathaire]], one of her war leaders, contends. According to the [[Chantry]] teachings, the reason the Imperium did not fall entirely to her army was because of Maferath, Andraste's mortal husband. Feeling that the barbarians had overextended themselves, he made a deal with the magisters to keep the south in exchange for turning Andraste over to them. She was burned at the stake in [[Minrathous]]. Her death is known as the second sin, which caused the Maker to turn from humanity once again. Yet, because of her, the Imperium, for all intents and purposes, was greatly weakened, and the Chantry was formed, focused around her teachings.
+
To the world, Andraste was an escaped slave from the Tevinter Imperium who came to power after the [[First Blight]] had ended and the [[archdemon]] [[Dumat]] was slain. She fought against the Imperium, which had been significantly weakened by the First [[Blight]]. As part of the [[Exalted Marches]], she conquered most of the south while fighting to destroy the [[magister]]s, whom she blamed for the Blight. The people she led in her campaign were the barbarian ancestors of the Fereldans, the Alamarri. She also joined forces with the elven leader and former slave [[Shartan]] and his people as they shared a common enemy in the Imperium. To the Imperium, Andraste was an opportunist, a barbarian taking advantage of their weakness. She led her rebellion against the Tevinter Imperium in the first Exalted March under the Maker's sanction. Andraste's March was greatly successful due in part to several unfortunately concurrent natural disasters, including droughts, famines and flooding, which decimated the Imperium's farmland and, consequently, troops—a form of divine punishment, which Disciple [[Cathaire]], one of her war leaders, contends. According to the [[Chantry]] teachings, the reason the Imperium did not fall entirely to her army was because of Maferath, Andraste's mortal husband. Feeling that the barbarians had overextended themselves, he made a deal with the magisters to keep the south in exchange for turning Andraste over to them. She was burned at the stake in [[Minrathous]]. Her death is known as the second sin, which caused the Maker to turn from humanity once again. Yet, because of her, the Imperium, for all intents and purposes, was greatly weakened, and the Chantry was formed, focused around her teachings.
  +
[[File:Stained.jpg|thumb|245x245px|Stained-glass windows telling Andraste's story]]
 
Archon [[Hessarian]], who ordered Andraste's execution, was the first person converted to following the Chant of Light. According to the Chant, the Archon saw the error of his ways as soon as Andraste was burned. It was he that put the sword through her heart to put her out of her misery, which is why the sword is a symbol of mercy in Andrastian lore, and later repented her execution entirely (though Chantry dissenters claim Hessarian only converted because he could not stem the tide against Andraste's followers, only emboldened by the death of their leader, and repented his actions as a means to stay in power).
+
Archon [[Hessarian]], who ordered Andraste's execution, was the first person converted to following the Chant of Light. According to the Chant, the Archon saw the error of his ways as soon as Andraste was burned. It was he who put the sword through her heart to put her out of her misery, which is why the sword is a symbol of mercy in Andrastian lore, and later repented her execution entirely (though Chantry dissenters claim Hessarian only converted because he could not stem the tide against Andraste's followers, only emboldened by the death of their leader, and repented his actions as a means to stay in power).
   
 
He turned on his former ally Maferath and ushered the way for the Tevinter Imperium to eventually become an Andrastian nation, though the Chantry as an organization did not yet exist at this time. As for Maferath, when his betrayal became common knowledge, his people abandoned and eventually murdered him.
 
He turned on his former ally Maferath and ushered the way for the Tevinter Imperium to eventually become an Andrastian nation, though the Chantry as an organization did not yet exist at this time. As for Maferath, when his betrayal became common knowledge, his people abandoned and eventually murdered him.
   
Andraste had several children, but it is unknown if any of her descendants still live, as all of her scions were born female, and thus they took the man's name in marriage. There have been many claimants in the centuries since, saying they were related to Andraste, but the Chantry has disavowed each of them. To date there are no known legitimate heirs to Andraste's blood.<ref>{{BW old forums|author=Gaider, David|date=June 30, 2009|url=http://forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=684017&forum=135&sp=45#6487165|archive=http://web.archive.org/web/20090714123543/http://www.dragonagecentral.com/thread/684017|title=One-line lore questions only please|access=February 28, 2014}}</ref> Andraste was believed to be barren when she married Maferath, but since he was a barbarian chieftain, he needed an heir, so he sired three sons with a concubine, whom Andraste adopted as her own. Years later however she did manage to give Maferath two children, both daughters.<ref>[[Codex entry: The Children of Andraste]]</ref>
+
Andraste bore two children, but it is unknown if any of her descendants still live, as all of her scions were born female, and thus they took the man's name in marriage. There have been many claimants in the centuries since, saying they were related to Andraste, but the Chantry has disavowed each of them. To date there are no known legitimate heirs to Andraste's blood.<ref>{{BW old forums|author=Gaider, David|date=June 30, 2009|url=http://forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=684017&forum=135&sp=45#6487165|archive=http://web.archive.org/web/20090714123543/http://www.dragonagecentral.com/thread/684017|title=One-line lore questions only please|access=February 28, 2014}}</ref> Andraste was too weak to bear children<ref>[[World of Thedas]] v2 pg 15</ref> when she married Maferath, but since he was a barbarian chieftain, he needed an heir, so he sired three sons with the concubine Gilivhan, whom Andraste adopted as her own. Years later however she did manage to give Maferath two children, both daughters.<ref>[[Codex entry: The Children of Andraste]]</ref> The daughters were never counted as heirs, but were still allowed to have relationships and families. Ebris partnered and had children but was as weak as her mother, and died of plague in her late twenties. Her daughter, Alli Vemar, was married but died in an accident before she could have any children. The other daughter of Andraste, Vivial, fell in love with the Tevinter mage named Regulan. Before their marriage the two went into exile, and all records of her and her daughters were destroyed by Andraste herself.<ref>[[World of Thedas]] v2 pg15</ref>
   
[[File:Andraste and magisters - Those Who Speak 1-1.png|thumb|200px|Andraste and Tevinter magisters (from ''[[Dragon Age: Those Who Speak|Those Who Speak]]'')]]
+
[[File:Andraste and magisters - Those Who Speak 1-1.png|thumb|200px|Andraste and Tevinter magisters]]
After her death, a group of people named as [[Disciples of Andraste]] was created for the purpose of protecting her [[Urn of Andraste|remnants]] and continuing her legacy. They moved her remnants to the [[Frostback Mountains]] and a [[The Gauntlet|temple]] was built around it. Eventually however only the [[Guardian (character)|Guardian]] stood still in his post and protected the ashes as the rest of the disciples believed that Andraste has been reborn into the form of a [[High dragon]]. This temple commemorates her memory and prevents the unworthy from viewing her remains. The remains stayed in the mountain, undisturbed for many years and eventually rumours began to spread that her ashes held curative properties.
+
After her death, a group of people named [[Disciples of Andraste]] was created for the purpose of protecting her [[Urn of Andraste|remnants]] and continuing her legacy. They moved her remnants to the [[Frostback Mountains]] and a [[Ruined Temple|temple]] was built around it. Eventually, however, only the [[Guardian (character)|Guardian]] stood still in his post and protected the ashes, as the rest of the disciples believed that Andraste had been reborn into the form of a [[high dragon]]. This temple commemorates her memory and prevents the unworthy from viewing her remains. The remains stayed in the mountain, undisturbed for many years and eventually rumours began to spread that her ashes held [[Medicine|curative]] properties.
   
Furthermore, the official belief of the [[Imperial Chantry]] is that Andraste wasn't, in fact, the Maker's Chosen, but rather "just" an extraordinarily powerful [[mage]]. This view, which is considered heretical by the Andrastian Chantry, can also be found in a book called "[[The Search for the True Prophet]]". Even [[Empress Celene]] suspects that Andraste's views were more political than idealistic.<ref>[[Dragon Age: The Masked Empire]] p. 108</ref>
+
The official belief of the [[Imperial Chantry]] is that Andraste wasn't, in fact, the Maker's Chosen, but rather "just" an extraordinarily powerful [[mage]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZK_hfTV4Zw&list=UUEvNGwLX3AKUAZRwTqrhhSQ&index=1 Dorian Pavus Conversation].</ref><ref name="prima">Prima Official Game Guide: DAO Collector's Edition.</ref> This view, which is considered heretical by the Andrastian Chantry, can also be found in a book called "[[The Search for the True Prophet]]". Chantry art frequently depicts her as a warrior bearing a sword and shield or as merely a robed motherly figure, however.
   
  +
Furthermore, the newly revealed portions of the formerly-apocryphal Dissonant Verses of the [[Chant of Light]] seem only to ascribe more "mundane" visions and periods of immobility to Andraste rather than magical powers, and in fact describe her and her warrior army being nearly bested by the magical attacks of Tevinter during her rebellion<ref>{{Cite wot2|67-69.}}</ref>. Similarly, many of the miracles ascribed to Andraste's communion with the Maker are now commonly assumed to have either natural explanations or else to be most likely coincidental underground [[Darkspawn]] incursions.<ref>{{Cite wot2|12.}}</ref> Some individuals, such as [[Celene Valmont I|Empress Celene]], similarly suspect that Andraste's views were likely more political than idealistic.<ref>[[Dragon Age: The Masked Empire]] p. 108</ref>
The prophet is said to have been born in Denerim where a memorial stone, known as the '''Birth Rock,''' stands in the city's [[Royal Palace|Palace]] District. It is a site of pilgrimage to her followers who come to touch the rock in her honor.<ref>[[Codex entry: Denerim]]</ref> However, the Orlesian city of Jader also claims this prestige.
 
   
 
The prophet is said to have been born in Denerim where a memorial stone, known as the "Birth Rock", stands in the city's [[Royal Palace|Palace]] District. It is a site of pilgrimage to her followers who come to touch the rock in her honor.<ref>[[Codex entry: Denerim]]</ref> However, the Orlesian city of Jader also claims this prestige.
== Customs & Culture ==
 
  +
At the beginning of [[Calendar|Matrinalis]] there is a holiday named "All Soul’s Day" and the Chantry uses the holiday to remember the death of Andraste, with public fires that mark her immolation and plays that depict her death.
 
 
== Customs and Culture ==
 
At the beginning of [[Calendar|Matrinalis]] there is a holiday named "All Soul’s Day" and the Chantry uses the holiday to remember the death of Andraste, with public fires that mark her immolation and plays that depict her death. In Chantries across Thedas, it is more popular to depict Andraste praying rather than as the conqueror that she was with a sword and shield.
   
 
== Dragon Age: Inquisition ==
 
== Dragon Age: Inquisition ==
 
{{SpoilerDAI|
 
{{SpoilerDAI|
  +
After the explosion that kills Divine [[Justinia V]] and the conclave, [[the Inquisitor]] finds themselves in the [[Fade]] and suffering from memory loss of how they got there. The Inquisitor meets a [[spirit]] who they remember reaching out to, which many believed is how the Inquisitor was imprinted by a mark on their left hand, which has the ability to close [[Fade rift]]s across Thedas. The Inquisitor escaped the Fade through a rift and was found by the [[Inquisition]]. Through companion dialogue, it is revealed that many believe that the spirit is Andraste and that she granted the ability to the Inquisitor to save Thedas. Thus, those believers call the Inquisitor the "Herald of Andraste".
   
  +
It is long left ambiguous what the spirit who helped the Inquisitor was. However, during the Inquisitor's push to halt the chaos at [[Adamant]] fortress, it is revealed that the spirit bore the semblance of [[Justinia V]] and not Andraste.
[[File:Andraste.png|thumb|The spirit reaching out to the Inquisitor ]]
 
 
The (soon to be) [[Inquisitor]] finds themselves in the [[Fade]], and they meet a [[spirit]] who is later revealed to be a sprit that has taken the form of the late Divine [[Justinia V]]. The Inquisitor escaped the Fade through a rift and he/she was found by the [[Inquisition]]. He/she is assumed to be "The Herald of Andraste" because they now have the ability to close fade rifts. The spirit is also assumed to be [[Andraste]] by many [[Chantry]] faithful, and the magical mark her "divine" gift. In reality, "The Anchor" is magic bestowed upon The Inquisitor by an Elven artifact when Justinia V interrupted [[Corypheus]]' use of it.
 
 
 
}}
 
}}
   
 
== Trivia ==
 
== Trivia ==
 
* Before the developers decided on the name of Andraste, she was named Augusta.<ref>{{BWF|author=Gaider, David|date=8 October, 2010|url=http://forum.bioware.com/topic/144584-gameing-research/?p=3830742|title=Gameing Research|access=February 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>[http://dgaider.tumblr.com/post/93900786134/nuclear-sunrise-so-i-just-got-world-of-thedas The Bittersweetest Thing].</ref>
 
* Before the developers decided on the name of Andraste, she was named Augusta.<ref>{{BWF|author=Gaider, David|date=8 October, 2010|url=http://forum.bioware.com/topic/144584-gameing-research/?p=3830742|title=Gameing Research|access=February 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>[http://dgaider.tumblr.com/post/93900786134/nuclear-sunrise-so-i-just-got-world-of-thedas The Bittersweetest Thing].</ref>
*Some people, most notably the [[Imperial Chantry]]<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZK_hfTV4Zw&list=UUEvNGwLX3AKUAZRwTqrhhSQ&index=1 Dorian Pavus Conversation].</ref>, believed that Andraste may have been a powerful [[mage]].<ref name="prima">Prima Official Game Guide: DAO Collector's Edition.</ref> [[The Search for the True Prophet]] is a tome that explores this possibility. Chantry art frequently depicts her as a warrior bearing a sword and shield, however.
 
 
* It appears that many Andrastians suspect, as a matter of salacious debate, that [[Shartan]] and Andraste were lovers during her rebellion against the [[Magister]]s of [[Tevinter]].<ref>[[Patrick Weekes]]. ''[[Dragon Age: The Masked Empire]]'', pg. 109-110.</ref>
 
* It appears that many Andrastians suspect, as a matter of salacious debate, that [[Shartan]] and Andraste were lovers during her rebellion against the [[Magister]]s of [[Tevinter]].<ref>[[Patrick Weekes]]. ''[[Dragon Age: The Masked Empire]]'', pg. 109-110.</ref>
* According to banter between [[Sera]] and [[Cassandra Pentaghast]], Andraste may have been a redhead. Background art from [[Dragon Age: Those Who Speak]] portrays her as a blond.
+
* According to banter between [[Sera]] and [[Cassandra Pentaghast]], Andraste may have been a redhead. Background art from [[Dragon Age: Those Who Speak]] and artwork in [[Dragon Age: The World of Thedas]] portray her as a blonde.
   
 
== Gallery ==
 
== Gallery ==

Revision as of 00:26, 17 May 2015

“Its gates forever shut.
Heaven has been filled with silence,
I knew then,
And cross'd my heart with shame.
—Andraste 1:11”


Andraste is the prophet whose teachings later served as the foundation for the formation of the Chantry, which later becomes the dominant religion of Thedas. She was the spiritual wife of the Maker, the being whom the Chantry worships.

Background

“And thus fell the eye of the Maker upon Andraste, she who would be raised up from outcast to become His bride. From her lips would fall the Chant of Light, at her command would the legions of righteousness fall upon the world.[1]

According to some scholars, Andraste was born into the Ciriane tribe in -203 Ancient (992 TE) in Denerim, which was then a fishing village. Her mother was an Alamarri[2] woman named Brona and her father was the chieftain of one of the largest Alamarri tribes in what is now northern Ferelden.[3] Her sister Haliserre dying in a violent incident under mysterious circumstances left Andraste with a sickness that made her unable to bear children for a decade. She also was known to display strange behavior such as become still for long moments in an trance-like state, after which she would report voices as if from a lost memory, talk of strange auras or the sound of bells.[4] Andraste was a woman who rose to greatness first as a slave of the Tevinter Imperium, then as a prophet, war leader, and religious icon.

Andraste and Maker WoT

Andraste's vision of the Maker.[5]

See also: Tears of Andraste

According to the legend, before the Maker spoke to Andraste, she despaired at the fate of her fellows. At that time, every night, her husband, Maferath would come to console her and each time Andraste would tell him her despair while shedding a single tear which Maferath captured in a vial. On the thirtieth night the vial was full, and when dawn came Andraste saw her first vision of the Maker. Even though this legend is popular and has passed on for ages, a part of it isn't in the Chant of Light.[6]

From an early age, Andraste suffered troubling dreams of a god known as the Maker.[3] Over time she began to interpret these dreams as the answer to questions that plagued her, and she came to understand that the Maker was the supreme being who had abandoned the world when his people took up the worship of the Old Gods, those beings worshipped in particular by the Tevinter Imperium. According to Chantry canon, after having fled the Imperium and marrying the warlord Maferath, Andraste appealed to the gods[7] but her prayers went unanswered. She would sing, and one day the Maker, enchanted by her voice, invited her to join Him at His side. She instead encouraged Him to return to humanity and forgive them, compelling her fellow Alamarri and others to accept the one true god of Thedas.

To the world, Andraste was an escaped slave from the Tevinter Imperium who came to power after the First Blight had ended and the archdemon Dumat was slain. She fought against the Imperium, which had been significantly weakened by the First Blight. As part of the Exalted Marches, she conquered most of the south while fighting to destroy the magisters, whom she blamed for the Blight. The people she led in her campaign were the barbarian ancestors of the Fereldans, the Alamarri. She also joined forces with the elven leader and former slave Shartan and his people as they shared a common enemy in the Imperium. To the Imperium, Andraste was an opportunist, a barbarian taking advantage of their weakness. She led her rebellion against the Tevinter Imperium in the first Exalted March under the Maker's sanction. Andraste's March was greatly successful due in part to several unfortunately concurrent natural disasters, including droughts, famines and flooding, which decimated the Imperium's farmland and, consequently, troops—a form of divine punishment, which Disciple Cathaire, one of her war leaders, contends. According to the Chantry teachings, the reason the Imperium did not fall entirely to her army was because of Maferath, Andraste's mortal husband. Feeling that the barbarians had overextended themselves, he made a deal with the magisters to keep the south in exchange for turning Andraste over to them. She was burned at the stake in Minrathous. Her death is known as the second sin, which caused the Maker to turn from humanity once again. Yet, because of her, the Imperium, for all intents and purposes, was greatly weakened, and the Chantry was formed, focused around her teachings.

Stained

Stained-glass windows telling Andraste's story

Archon Hessarian, who ordered Andraste's execution, was the first person converted to following the Chant of Light. According to the Chant, the Archon saw the error of his ways as soon as Andraste was burned. It was he who put the sword through her heart to put her out of her misery, which is why the sword is a symbol of mercy in Andrastian lore, and later repented her execution entirely (though Chantry dissenters claim Hessarian only converted because he could not stem the tide against Andraste's followers, only emboldened by the death of their leader, and repented his actions as a means to stay in power).

He turned on his former ally Maferath and ushered the way for the Tevinter Imperium to eventually become an Andrastian nation, though the Chantry as an organization did not yet exist at this time. As for Maferath, when his betrayal became common knowledge, his people abandoned and eventually murdered him.

Andraste bore two children, but it is unknown if any of her descendants still live, as all of her scions were born female, and thus they took the man's name in marriage. There have been many claimants in the centuries since, saying they were related to Andraste, but the Chantry has disavowed each of them. To date there are no known legitimate heirs to Andraste's blood.[8] Andraste was too weak to bear children[9] when she married Maferath, but since he was a barbarian chieftain, he needed an heir, so he sired three sons with the concubine Gilivhan, whom Andraste adopted as her own. Years later however she did manage to give Maferath two children, both daughters.[10] The daughters were never counted as heirs, but were still allowed to have relationships and families. Ebris partnered and had children but was as weak as her mother, and died of plague in her late twenties. Her daughter, Alli Vemar, was married but died in an accident before she could have any children. The other daughter of Andraste, Vivial, fell in love with the Tevinter mage named Regulan. Before their marriage the two went into exile, and all records of her and her daughters were destroyed by Andraste herself.[11]

Andraste and magisters - Those Who Speak 1-1

Andraste and Tevinter magisters

After her death, a group of people named Disciples of Andraste was created for the purpose of protecting her remnants and continuing her legacy. They moved her remnants to the Frostback Mountains and a temple was built around it. Eventually, however, only the Guardian stood still in his post and protected the ashes, as the rest of the disciples believed that Andraste had been reborn into the form of a high dragon. This temple commemorates her memory and prevents the unworthy from viewing her remains. The remains stayed in the mountain, undisturbed for many years and eventually rumours began to spread that her ashes held curative properties.

The official belief of the Imperial Chantry is that Andraste wasn't, in fact, the Maker's Chosen, but rather "just" an extraordinarily powerful mage.[12][13] This view, which is considered heretical by the Andrastian Chantry, can also be found in a book called "The Search for the True Prophet". Chantry art frequently depicts her as a warrior bearing a sword and shield or as merely a robed motherly figure, however.

Furthermore, the newly revealed portions of the formerly-apocryphal Dissonant Verses of the Chant of Light seem only to ascribe more "mundane" visions and periods of immobility to Andraste rather than magical powers, and in fact describe her and her warrior army being nearly bested by the magical attacks of Tevinter during her rebellion[14]. Similarly, many of the miracles ascribed to Andraste's communion with the Maker are now commonly assumed to have either natural explanations or else to be most likely coincidental underground Darkspawn incursions.[15] Some individuals, such as Empress Celene, similarly suspect that Andraste's views were likely more political than idealistic.[16]

The prophet is said to have been born in Denerim where a memorial stone, known as the "Birth Rock", stands in the city's Palace District. It is a site of pilgrimage to her followers who come to touch the rock in her honor.[17] However, the Orlesian city of Jader also claims this prestige.

Customs and Culture

At the beginning of Matrinalis there is a holiday named "All Soul’s Day" and the Chantry uses the holiday to remember the death of Andraste, with public fires that mark her immolation and plays that depict her death. In Chantries across Thedas, it is more popular to depict Andraste praying rather than as the conqueror that she was with a sword and shield.

Dragon Age: Inquisition


This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Inquisition.


After the explosion that kills Divine Justinia V and the conclave, the Inquisitor finds themselves in the Fade and suffering from memory loss of how they got there. The Inquisitor meets a spirit who they remember reaching out to, which many believed is how the Inquisitor was imprinted by a mark on their left hand, which has the ability to close Fade rifts across Thedas. The Inquisitor escaped the Fade through a rift and was found by the Inquisition. Through companion dialogue, it is revealed that many believe that the spirit is Andraste and that she granted the ability to the Inquisitor to save Thedas. Thus, those believers call the Inquisitor the "Herald of Andraste".

It is long left ambiguous what the spirit who helped the Inquisitor was. However, during the Inquisitor's push to halt the chaos at Adamant fortress, it is revealed that the spirit bore the semblance of Justinia V and not Andraste.


Trivia

Gallery

See also

Codex entry: Andraste: Bride of the Maker Codex entry: Andraste: Bride of the Maker

Codex entry: The Children of Andraste Codex entry: The Children of Andraste

Codex entry: Andraste's Mabari Codex entry: Andraste's Mabari

References

  1. As recited from the Chant of Light by Maric Theirin in Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, p. 38.
  2. Codex entry: Andraste: Bride of the Maker
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 111
  4. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 18
  5. 5.0 5.1 Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 112
  6. This legend is mentioned by Slim Couldry when acquiring The Tears of Andraste sub-quest.
  7. Codex entry: The Avvars, specifically, their religion.
  8. BioWare old forums Gaider, David (June 30, 2009). "One-line lore questions only please" (archive). BioWare Forums (offline). Retrieved on February 28, 2014.
  9. World of Thedas v2 pg 15
  10. Codex entry: The Children of Andraste
  11. World of Thedas v2 pg15
  12. Dorian Pavus Conversation.
  13. Prima Official Game Guide: DAO Collector's Edition.
  14. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, pp. 67-69.
  15. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 12.
  16. Dragon Age: The Masked Empire p. 108
  17. Codex entry: Denerim
  18. BSN Gaider, David (8 October, 2010). "Gameing Research" . The BioWare Forum. Retrieved on February 28, 2014.
  19. The Bittersweetest Thing.
  20. Patrick Weekes. Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, pg. 109-110.
  21. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 113
  22. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 114
  23. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 115
  24. Dragon Age logo - new Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 119