Grey Wardens

{|class="greywarden" "In war, victory In peace, vigilance In death, sacrifice" - Grey Wardens' motto 
 * ACH ADVLASTOFTHEWARDENS.png



The Grey Wardens are an organization of the most elite and feared of warriors, dedicated to the destruction of darkspawn in all of Thedas. They are headquartered in Weisshaupt Fortress in the country of Anderfels, and they are known to have a significant presence in the Orlesian Empire. The centuries of peace have left them all but forgotten. Yet, the Grey Wardens have kept watch through the ages, well aware that peace is fleeting, and that their enemy will never truly be defeated until the last of the darkspawn have been slain.

From the first, the Grey Wardens sacrificed everything to stem the tide of darkness. Uniquely qualified for this task, they drew upon the most powerful of mages and the finest of warriors from all races and forged them into a fighting force that had time and time again driven back the darkspawn Blights. They remain legends, vigilantly watching for the return of their ancient foes, and stand ready to do battle once more when that time comes.

Histoy


During the darkest hours of the First Blight, a group of warriors and mages gathered together and underwent the first Joining. This ritual enabled them to turn the tide of the war. They defeated the darkspawn and slew the first Archdemon.

The Grey Wardens were once a large and magnificent organization who rode griffons that clouded the skies. The sight of them arriving in glorious numbers wherever darkspawn threatened was truly a sight to behold. They were revered by the people, and the nations of humanity once gladly supported them with food, equipment and a steady stream of recruits. Governments are still expected to pay a tithe to the Grey Wardens, but it has been four hundred years since the last Blight, and many now think the Grey Wardens to be irrelevant and obsolete. Their numbers have dwindled to near extinction, and although they are now seen to be only a relic of a once great and proud league of heroes, the few remaining Grey Wardens still keep up their training and maintain a watchful eye for signs of another Blight.

Exiled from Ferelden 200 years ago, when their then commander's personal bonds led to the Grey Wardens involvement in a plot to overthrow the king, they were only readmitted 20 years ago by King Maric Theirin. The Grey Wardens of Ferelden are currently led by Duncan and number only about two dozen, but they have begun the slow process of rebuilding their order.

Some of the Grey Wardens have been known to use Blood Magic, as shown during the events at Soldiers Peak. This shows that the Grey Wardens will oppose the darkspawn using any method necessary.

The Right of Conscription
Should they need to, the Wardens possess the Right of Conscription; they may demand that anyone from king to criminal be drafted into their ranks. However, in Ferelden especially, that right is used sparingly, for fear of political reprisal. Further complicating matters, the Wardens don’t take just anyone in their ranks. Only the best and brightest are invited, regardless of race or social standing.

{{DAOSpoiler|

Duncan used the Right to get Alistair out of his templar training when the Chantry's Revered Mother resisted. The Right can also be used on The Warden during their origin to ensure that they join the Grey Wardens.

The Joining
To become part of the Grey Wardens a recruit must first go through a ritual called the Joining. One of the reasons the ranks of Grey Wardens are small is that few can survive this ritual. Only those who have a decent chance of surviving the Joining will even be made recruits. The ritual and the details about it are kept a strict secret by the Grey Wardens, because during the Joining, the recruits drink from a goblet containing a mixture of common darkspawn blood, lyrium and a drop of blood from an Archdemon. Few survive this, but those who live become Grey Wardens - forever connected to the darkspawn, and forever tainted by the blood they have consumed.

Becoming a Grey Warden requires a dose of the darkspawn corruption in sufficient potency that it immediately affects someone, rather than slowly enough to sicken them, which would turn them into a ghoul. While Archdemon blood is typically used, any darkspawn blood can be magically treated to make it work. However, the average darkspawn doesn't have enough of the corruption within it for this to work.

This ritual grants Grey Wardens several abilities: their link to the group mind allows them to detect the presence of darkspawn and they become immune to further corruption by the Blight. However, they also suffer from bad (if occasionally prophetic) dreams, ravenous hunger, and shortened lifespans. Also, while they can sense darkspawn, darkspawn are also capable of sensing the Wardens. As much of a boon as this dark gift is for the Wardens, it has also allowed them to be hunted by the darkspawn on occasion.

The Calling
The taint that gives Grey Wardens the ability to detect darkspawn also limits their lifespan. They have approximately 30 years to live following the Joining ritual. Yet, rather than withering away from their sickness, Grey Wardens traditionally experience the Calling when nearing a taint-induced death, where they choose to descend to the Deep Roads to kill as many darkspawn as they can before eventually perishing.

Riordan implied that even if a Grey Warden would run away, given time all Wardens would find themselves in the Deep Roads, Blight-Lands or pursued by darkspawn, for they all are connected by the taint that draws them to each other. Thus, one can assume that almost every Grey Warden will die at the hands of darkspawn.}}

Notable Grey Wardens

 * Alistair
 * Asturian
 * Avernus
 * Duncan
 * Genevieve
 * The Secret Companion (depending on player's choice)
 * Martine
 * Riordan
 * Sophia Dryden
 * The Warden

Heraldry
The heraldry of the Grey Wardens is "a griffin sergeant". The Grey Warden Commanders, at least in the time of Sophia Dryden, seem to have their own heraldry as well. The blazon for that charge might be rendered as "two griffins displayed addorsed, wings elevated, maintaining a branch fesswise between them". On Sophia Dryden's Warden Commander Armor, the charge appears in or, on a field sable. The artistic rendition of the charge on the armor is distinct from that seen on the heavy metal shields.

Trivia

 * Weisshaupt Castle may be a reference to Adam Weishaupt, founder of the order of Illuminati.
 * "Weiss," in German, means "white," while "haupt" refers to the head of an organization or the head of a being in general. It could refer to the snow-tipped mountains where the fortress is located.
 * In all of the cinematics, the Grey Wardens are never shown actually dying.
 * Dragon Age: The Calling, by David Gaider, gives further insight into many aspects of Grey Warden lore.