Dragon Age: The Calling

Dragon Age: The Calling is the second novel to be set in the Dragon Age universe. It is set approximately fourteen years after King Maric Theirin and his companions ventured into the Deep Roads as described in Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne and eleven years after the end of the Orlesian occupation of Ferelden was brought to an end. It focuses on Maric, a young Duncan and the Grey Wardens. It was written by David Gaider and released October 13, 2009.

Overview
"In Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, Maric set out on a mission of vengeance against the faithless lords who were responsible for his mother's death. Now, having reclaimed the throne, King Maric finally allows the legendary Grey Wardens to return to Ferelden after two hundred years of exile. When they come, however, they bring dire news: one of their own has escaped into the Deep Roads and aligned himself with their ancient enemy, the monstrous darkspawn. The Grey Wardens need Maric's help to find him. He reluctantly agrees to lead them into the passages he traveled through years before, chasing after a deadly secret that will threaten to destroy not only the Grey Wardens, but also the Kingdom above."

Plot
Maric is approached by Genevieve, Commander of the Grey Wardens in Orlais. Genevieve's brother, Bregan, has been captured by the darkspawn and, she believes, is being held near Ortan Thaig. Maric and Loghain are the only two living people to have ventured that way and Maric, tired of the responsibilities of rule and fleeing from what he sees as his failure as a father to his nine-year-old son, Cailan, volunteers to guide the Grey Wardens into the Deep Roads. Thus he comes to travel with a band of Wardens including a young Duncan and an Orlesian elven mage named Fiona and to confront The Architect, an unusually intelligent darkspawn emissary with a very disturbing plan.

Bregan ventured into the Deep Roads after hearing his Calling. However, he knows the location of the Old Gods, which The Architect claims to want to locate and destroy to free the darkspawn from their siren call. This, it claims, will facilitate peace between humans and the darkspawn but concluding such a peace would demand a huge price. The darkspawn taint turns creatures into ghouls, all except the Grey Wardens who are made, at least temporarily, immune to the taint by their Joining. Humans and darkspawn can only exists in harmony if the darkspawn taint is introduced to all humans across Thedas. With his mind disturbed by the encraoching darkspawn taint, to which his immunity is exhausted, Bregan falls in with The Architect's plans. It later transpires that The Architect also has other allies who cannot plead such an excuse, among them First Enchanter Remille of the Fereldan Circle of Magi.

The Grey Wardens and Maric venture into the Deep Roads and find Bregan and The Architect, on the way encountering a Dragon and Sloth Demon who traps them in the Fade (The Warden of Dragon Age: Origins has to overcome a similar challenge in The Fade: Lost in Dreams quest). However, some trinkets given to the Wardens by First Enchanter Remille allegedly to prevent the darkspawn from sensing the Wardens have instead served to rapidly accelerate the progress of the taint in them. Only Duncan protected by a dagger he stole from Remille, remains immune. Suffering, it is to be supposed, from the mental effects of the taint, Genevieve and the Silent Sister Utha agree to join Bregan and The Architect to destroy the Old Gods, though the full extent of The Architect's plans is not revealed to them.

The rest of the surviving Grey Wardens and Maric attempt to escape. Only Duncan, Fiona and Maric make it out of the Deep Roads, and then only to find themselves tricked and captured by First Enchanter Remille and taken to the Circle Tower. There, they re-encounter The Architect, Bregan, Genevieve and Utha, but Bregan and Genevieve renounce The Architect's plans. They and the traitorous Remille are killed in the final showdown, but The Architect and Utha escape.

Fiona and Duncan leave to visit the Warden headquarters in Weisshaupt Fortress. Free of Remille's poisonous trinket, Fiona recovers from the artifically accelerated taint, and the Warden mages think she may actually be the first Warden to be free of it forever and thus avoid the Calling. Duncan and Fiona return to Ferelden, Duncan to be second-in-command of the Wardens in Ferelden, and Fiona to see Maric. She and Maric became lovers, at least briefly, whilst in the Deep Roads. Fiona became pregnant and bore Maric an illegitimate son who, as all children of elves and humans, appears wholly human. She gives the child to Maric, to be raised in ignorance of the elven heritage that brought her little but pain.

Characters
Some key characters in the book are as follows:
 * The Architect - an unusually intelligent darkspawn emissary with a disturbing plan
 * Bregan - Genevieve's brother and former Commander of the Grey in Orlais
 * Duncan - A young Grey Warden
 * Fiona - An Orlesian elven mage and Grey Warden
 * Genevieve - Commander of the Grey in Orlais
 * Hafter - Kell's wardog, named after the legendary Dane's son
 * Julien - A Grey Warden warrior
 * Kell - A Grey Warden and Genevieve's second in command
 * Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir - Maric's friend and advisor
 * Nicolas - A Grey Warden warrior
 * Remille - Orlesian First Enchanter of the Fereldan Circle Tower
 * King Maric Theirin
 * Utha - a dwarven Grey Warden and silent sister

Trivia

 * The Architect seems set to feature in the Dragon Age: Awakening expansion.