Corypheus

"The city! It was supposed to be golden! It was supposed to be ours!"

Corypheus also known as the "Elder One" is an ancient darkspawn trapped inside a prison that was built by Grey Wardens in the Vimmark Mountains.

Quotes

 * "Tell me where is your maker now? Call him, call down his wrath upon me! You cannot for he does not exist!"
 * "Bow before your new god and be spared!"
 * "Be this some dream I wake from? Am I in dwarven lands? Why seem their roads so empty?"
 * "You look human. Are you not citizens of the Empire? Slaves then, to the dwarves? Why come you here?"
 * "The light. We sought the golden light. You offered... the power of the gods themselves. But it was... black... corrupt. Darkness... ever since. How long?"
 * "Dumat? Have you forsaken me? I am your faithful servant..." (if Anders is in the party)
 * "If I cannot leave with you, I will leave through you! I seek the light!"

Trivia

 * Defeating Corypheus earns the player the achievement "Conductor". Classical Greek κορυφαῖος (koryphaîos) means "conductor of the chorus", possibly explaining the achievement's title.
 * Even though he is asleep, he is able to communicate with those who have the darkspawn taint, including Grey Wardens. This causes Larius and Anders great distress. However, a Grey Warden Carver or Bethany seems unaffected.
 * In the middle of Corypheus's ramblings, it is revealed that he and the other magisters sought the "golden light" and were promised by Dumat that they would receive the power of the gods in exchange for entering the Golden City. Upon arriving into the Fade, however, they found the city already black and corrupted, which calls into question the Chantry's claim that it was Tevinter magisters who corrupted the Golden City to become the tainted Black City.
 * Corypheus's statement "If I cannot leave with you, I will leave through you..." may have different meanings. It could mean he thought he could best Hawke and his party and be free to leave. But it can also be taken that even if he should be defeated he could still live by inhabiting another body since Hawke was not a Warden, similar to how the essence of an Archdemon can pass to another darkspawn if a Warden does not land the finishing blow; this suggesting that Corypheus may have possessed Larius or Janeka (depending on who the player sided with).
 * His frightening appearance and considerable power is comparable to that of the Architect.