New Exalted Marches

The Qunari Wars is the armed conflict that engulfed majority of Thedas across Steel Age and Storm Age.

The First Qunari War
In 6:30 Steel a race of white-haired, bronze-skinned giants previously unknown to Thedosians – called Qunari – landed on the shores of Par Vollen, which belonged to the Tevinter Imperium at the time. With their heavily armored and trained warriors and powerful cannons, the Qunari quickly annihilated the armed forces of the region. From the survivors, the Qunari indoctrinated many to their religion: the Qun. Those who refused to cooperate disappeared to mines or construction camps.

Word of Qunari invasion didn't reach the rest of Thedas until 6:32 Steel when the Qunari invasion began as their ships berth in great numbers at the coasts of Seheron and northern Rivain. The conflict became known as the First Qunari War, one of many Qunari Wars to follow.

Conquest of the north
Within two years the invaders spread to Antiva, and captured Treviso in 6:34 Steel as the Qunari's initial advances were great. After they had conquered much of the Tevinter Imperium, Rivain, and Antiva; the Qunari began to assault the Free Marches far to the south of the Imperium, only ten years into the invasion. Only Minrathous itself remained besieged but unconquered in the north.

The invading Qunari did not kill their prisoners, but instead converted the defeated to their rigoristic Qun. All the successful converts became Qunari and fueled their ranks.

Liberation of the north
By 6:85 Steel, 55 years after the Qunari had been first seen in Thedas, the humans had organized themselves and pushed back. Humans rebelled from Qunari captivity all over the Tevinter Imperium, and the Qunari's hold began to loosen.

The war continued for the rest of the century, and into next one. After nearly a quarter of a century, in 7:23 Storm, the Qunari were pushed back to Seheron and Rivain, but still held on to those regions tightly.

The Battle of the Nocen Sea was the largest naval engagement in history and resulted in a stalemate and the destruction of many ships on both sides. With both sides exhausted, an impasse began.

The Three Exalted Marches
In the year 7:24 Storm, the Andrastian Chantry and Imperial Chantry were desperate enough to work together for the first time since the schism to take down the threat to both organizations. They declared the New Exalted Marches against the Qunari – to retake Rivain for the Chantry, and Seheron and Qarinus for Tevinter.

The first New Exalted March in 7:25 Storm proved successful. The Circle of Magi proved to be a great boon for the Chantry-led forces as they were able to effectively counter the Qunari's technology with their magic. Year by year, the Chantry was able to push further and further into the Qunari lines, although local converts to the Qun proved difficult to return to Andraste's teachings. Many Qunari artifacts were plundered at this time, including the Tome of Koslun which was taken by Orlais as a spoil of war.

However, the second New Exalted March that took place 27 year later in 7:52 Storm was a disaster. The Qunari recaptured much of Antiva.

In 7:55 Storm, a third and final Exalted March is called.

The nations of Thedas found themselves in dire need of every ship they could muster against the massive power of the Qunari dreadnaughts. The Llomerryn pirates were faced with a hard decision: band together under one flag and fight with those they had previously preyed upon or face conversion and annihilation by the Qunari. Thus the Felicisima Armada was formed at 7:55 Storm.

In 7:56 Storm, the Qunari landed near Ostwick and launched assaults against Starkhaven and Kirkwall. Starkhaven prevailed, but Kirkwall fell due to the magic of the Saarebas. The city remained under Qunari power until Orlesian Chevalier Ser Michel Lafaille liberated Kirkwall in 7:60 Storm. He found that most of the population was converted to the Qun. Kirkwall was incorporated into the Orlesian Empire, and Lafaille became the ruler of the city, named Viscount by the Orlesian emperor.

The Felicisima Armada used their stealth and trickery, plaguing Qunari supply lines and even launching seaborne invasions against the Qunari coast. At 7:78 Storm the raiders managed to defeat the Qunari in a massive naval battle and then take Estwatch from them, an island with strategic importance.

The Exalted March ended 24 years later in 7:84 Storm. The Qunari were in retreat, yet still holding on to Kont-aar and Par Vollen.

Peace treaty
By then, rebuilding all the destruction caused was considered more important than trying to dislodge the Qunari from Kont-aar once again. A meeting between envoys of all the human lands (except for Tevinter) and the Qunari at Llomerryn resulted in the signing of the Llomerryn Accords and peace being declared. Peace was not established between the Tevinter Imperium and the Qunari, but skirmishes were few while the Qunari pulled back to Par Vollen and regrouped.