Old Gods



The Old Gods are sleeping beings that were worshiped in the form of dragons by a significant number of Thedosians, specifically the people of the Tevinter Imperium, thousands of years ago. Legend holds that it was the Old Gods who initially taught mages how to use magic. The Archdemons are awakened Old Gods, tainted by the darkspawn.

Early history and imprisonment
"We dreamed up false gods, great demons Who could cross the Veil into the waking world, Turned our devotion upon them, and forgot you."

The true nature of the Old Gods is unknown. The Old Gods are not creators and even the people of ancient Tevinter attributed the creation of the world to the Maker, although by a different name.

The Chantry teaches that when the Maker turned his back on spirits, some of them grew jealous of the living. Those powerful enough whispered to the living in dreams claiming that they were the true gods, the creators of the world and the living should bow down before them. Eventually, the living summoned them through the Veil. In the mortal realm these spirits took the form of dragons, winged Old Gods that ruled over the land. The living started to worship them instead of the Maker, an act recognized as the "Original Sin." In fury the Maker cursed the Old Gods, imprisoning them in underground tombs where they would slumber eternally.

Some accounts suggest that the Old Gods began whispering to humanity from the Golden City in -2800 Ancient, three hundred years after the arrival of humans in Thedas. They taught the dreamers of the Neromenian tribes magic, and these dreamers became the priests and kings of their people. Originally the Neromenian tribes worshiped fallen heroes reborn as dragons, and with dreamers as their leaders they began to instead worship the dreamers' gods, also as dragons.

Scholars assume that the Old Gods must have been real at one point, but most agree that they were actual dragons of a magnitude not known today, and impressive enough to frighten ancient peoples into worshiping them. Some even claim that these dragons slumber as a form of hibernation, not as a result of the Maker's wrath.

The Tome of Koslun, the sacred Qunari scripture explicitly says that "the Old Gods were like unto dragons, as the first human kings were like unto ordinary men".

Worship in Tevinter
"The demons who would be gods, Began to whisper to men from their tombs within the earth. And the men of Tevinter heard and raised altars To the pretender-gods once more"

Legend maintains that the minds of the Old Gods continued to roam the Fade like any other dreaming individuals' mind would, and they were able to contact Neromenian dreamers once more. Honorary Archon, Thalsian accredited his discovery of blood magic in -1595 Ancient to the Old God Dumat and established the first temples dedicated to the Old Gods to show his gratitude. Dragons became equated everywhere with divine power.

Four centuries later, in -1195 Ancient Darinius founded the Tevinter Imperium and established the magisterium from the priesthood of the Old Gods. In the days of the Tevinter Imperium, the Old Gods were a pantheon of deities widely revered by most citizens, with temples and priesthoods dedicated to their veneration, such as the acolytes of Dumat, who swore oaths of silence in homage to their lord. Each god had a High Priest, and the seven of them were called the Magisters Sidereal. Holidays were popularly celebrated in tribute to the Old Gods, namely the Festival of Urthemiel, which spanned an entire week.

During this period, the Old Gods communicated directly with their worshipers, issuing explicit commands and instructions. There was also an equivalent of the Chant of Light, for the Old Gods, such as the Verses of Dumat.

Downfall
"Then a voice whispered within their hearts, You are the Lords of the earth! Go forth to claim the empty throne Of Heaven and be gods."

In -395 Ancient the Magisters Sidereal physically entered the Golden City, an act recognized as the "Second Sin". The Chantry holds that they did so at the behest of the Old Gods to open "the unreachable gate" in exchange for "power and glory beyond all reckoning", but instead of the dragons they found the Maker himself upon the throne of heaven. The City turned black and the magisters were cast out as the first darkspawn, inadvertently causing the First Blight. While the Chantry insists that the darkspawn tainted Old God Dumat and turned him into the first Archdemon, some ancient lore says it was Dumat who created the darkspawn and not the other way around.

In the aftermath of the event, all of the Old Gods suddenly stopped communicating with their followers. The First Blight led to a crisis of faith across the Imperium, shaken at the devastation their own god relentlessly championed. Several temples were razed by betrayed believers, slaughtering priests to the Old Gods as retribution for their unheeded prayers. Finally, during the Transfiguration that followed Archon Hessarian's conversion in -160 Ancient, worship of the Old Gods in Tevinter was forcefully replaced with the monotheistic worship of the Maker, although cults devoted to them are rumored to still exist.

The Call
"It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard. Aching and ethereal, it seemed to pull her toward a memory of nostalgic bliss that she had somehow lost — but that she would do anything to recover. Anything at all."

- Isseya

All darkspawn constantly hear the call of the slumbering Old Gods and search for them. When they find one, they corrupt it and it becomes an Archdemon, proceeding to unite them into a horde and unleash a new Blight. Hence many believe that with the death of all Old Gods the Blights will end. At some time after their Joining, Grey Wardens also start hearing this call. This is the actual Calling and the moment when Grey Wardens know they must descend into the Deep Roads to find their death in battle lest they become fully tainted, nothing more than ghouls. The call of the Old Gods becomes physically audible when close to one of their prisons.

Bregan describes the call of the Old Gods as a sound of "terrible beauty" and "awful yearning", while the Architect considers darkspawn pursuit for the ancient dragons as a never-ending aspiration towards a perfection they can never have, as it is corrupted in the instant they touch it. Cole hears the call in the Western Approach and feels that it has "an urgency that sped his heart" and is different from the song of lyrium.

The Souls
"Some things are worth preserving in this world. Make of that what you will."

- Morrigan

Some suppose that the transformation into an Archdemon drives an Old God mad. Others refuse to comprehend the motives of such beings, but many have agreed that it is safer to find and destroy them while they still slumber:

Slaying an awakened Archdemon is not an easy feat:

And there might be other options:

The Old Gods
The Tevinters worshipped seven Old Gods. The first—and the leader of the others—was called Dumat, the Dragon of Silence.


 * Dumat, the Dragon of Silence and the archdemon of the First Blight
 * Zazikel, the Dragon of Chaos and the archdemon of the Second Blight
 * Toth, the Dragon of Fire and the archdemon of the Third Blight
 * Andoral, the Dragon of Slaves and the archdemon of the Fourth Blight
 * Urthemiel, the Dragon of Beauty and the archdemon of the Fifth Blight
 * Razikale, the Dragon of Mystery
 * Lusacan, the Dragon of Night

A Chantry scholar conjectured that there might have been an unknown eighth Old God represented by constellation "Draconis" that was stricken from historical record.

Trivia

 * The Grey Wardens know the locations of the prisons of each of the Old Gods; however, they are deep underground and cannot easily be accessed by the Wardens without cutting through thousands of darkspawn.
 * David Gaider hinted that the Old Gods could have been based on the elven gods or the Forgotten Ones, and that the second group had more reasons for that.