Maferath

"I loved her too. But what man can compare to a God?"

Maferath was the mortal husband of Andraste. Though he was her husband, it was he who in the end betrayed Andraste and sold her to the Magisters in exchange for keeping the lands that Andraste had conquered from the weakened Tevinter Imperium. According to the Chantry, Maferath betrayed his wife because he grew tired of being second to the Maker in Andraste's eyes. However, the general consensus among historians is that he betrayed Andraste in order to rule the lands she had conquered. After his betrayal, Maferath attempted to rule, but when word of what he had done got out, the barbarians that had followed Andraste quickly abandoned him and his kingdom eventually crumbled. In the end, Maferath was killed by his own sons.

Because of the betrayal of Andraste, Maferath's name has become synonymous with treachery.



Involvement
He is one of the spirits that The Warden meets during A Test of Faith. His riddle is "A Poison of the soul, a passion's cruel counterpart; From love she grows, till love lies slain. Of what do I speak?"

The correct answer is "Jealousy". However, "I don't know" is acceptable. Maferath is one of the few spirits that accept "I don't know".

Result
If the Warden answers correctly or has chosen "I don't know" then the spirit will disappear. If the Warden answers incorrectly then they will have to fight an Ash Wraith.

Quotes

 * "Yes, jealousy drove me to betrayal. I was the greatest general of the Alamarri... but beside her, I was nothing. Hundreds fell before her on bended knee, they loved her, as did the Maker..."
 * "I loved her too, but what man can compare with a god?"
 * "You are fortunate in your innocence, then. Go forward."



Trivia

 * Maferath having become synonymous with treachery is much like the case for the Norwegian World War II collaborator Vidkun Quisling, whose last name now means traitor (of the homeland). In a famous caricature, Vidkun is granted an audience with Hitler. Upon arriving, the Führer ask who it is, and is told that it is Quisling, to which he answers "and his name?".
 * His role as betrayer to Andraste also makes him the Judas Iscariot of Andrasteism.
 * In Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, several statues are scattered around the Wending Wood inscribed with verses of a lost Canticle of Maferath, stricken from the canon of the Chant of Light as a Dissonant Verse. The Canticle suggests that Maferath repented his crime and found redemption in the eyes of the Maker and Andraste as his betrayal was essential, fulfilling a destiny that people would scorn but a fate nonetheless critical. This seems to mirror the Gospel of Judas, an apocryphal text which contradicts Biblical lore by indicating that Jesus Christ arranged for the events of his crucifixion, instructing Judas on his role. The authenticity of Maferath's Canticle is ambiguous.