Chant of Light verses



A number of Chant of Light Verses can be encountered whilst exploring Thedas. However, the full chant can take weeks to recite, so what can be gathered is incomplete. This article is intended to collect all the known verses.

Canticle of Shartan
''At Shartan’s word, the sky  Grew black with arrows.  At Our Lady’s, ten thousand swords  Rang from their sheaths,  A great hymn rose over Valarian Fields gladly proclaiming:  Those who had been slaves were now free.''

-- Canticle of Shartan 10:1

Canticle of Threnodies
There was no word For heaven or for earth, for sea or sky. All that existed was silence. Then the Voice of the Maker rang out, The first Word, And His Word became all that might be: Dream and idea, hope and fear, Endless possibilities. And from it made his firstborn. And he said to them: In My image I forge you, To you I give dominion Over all that exists. By your will May all things be done.

Then in the center of heaven He called forth A city with towers of gold, streets with music for cobblestones, And banners which flew without wind. There, He dwelled, waiting To see the wonders His children would create.

The children of the Maker gathered Before his golden throne And sang hymns of praise unending. But their songs Were the songs of the cobblestones. They shone with the golden light Reflected from the Maker's throne. They held forth the banners That flew on their own.

And the Voice of the Maker shook the Fade Saying: In My image I have wrought My firstborn. You have been given dominion Over all that exists. By your will All things are done. Yet you do nothing. The realm I have given you Is formless, ever-changing.

And He knew he had wrought amiss. So the Maker turned from his firstborn And took from the Fade A measure of its living flesh And placed it apart from the Spirits, and spoke to it, saying: Here, I decree Opposition in all things: For earth, sky For winter, summer For darkness, Light. By My Will alone is Balance sundered And the world given new life.

And no longer was it formless, ever-changing, But held fast, immutable, With Words for heaven and for earth, sea and sky. At last did the Maker From the living world Make men. Immutable, as the substance of the earth, With souls made of dream and idea, hope and fear, Endless possibilities.

Then the Maker said: To you, my second-born, I grant this gift: In your heart shall burn An unquenchable flame All-consuming, and never satisfied. From the Fade I crafted you, And to the Fade you shall return Each night in dreams That you may always remember me.

And then the Maker sealed the gates Of the Golden City And there, He dwelled, waiting To see the wonders His children would create.

--Threnodies 5:1-8

''And the voice of the Maker shook the Fade ''Saying: In My image I have wrought ''My firstborn. You have been given dominion ''Over all that exists. By your will ''All things are done. ''Yet you do nothing. ''The realm I have given you ''Is formless, ever-changing. --Threnodies 5:4.

''To you, my second-born, I grant this gift: ''In your heart shall burn ''An unquenchable flame ''All-consuming, and never satisfied. --Threnodies 5:7.

"In Darkness eternal they searched, For those who had goaded them on, Until at last they found their prize, Their god, their betrayer: The sleeping dragon Dumat. Their taint Twisted even the false-god, and the whisperer Awoke at last, in pain and horror, and led Them to wreak havoc upon all the nations of the world: The first Blight." --Threnodies 8:7

The mage-lords of Tevinter were men And doomed to die. Then a voice whispered within their hearts, Shall you surrender your power To time like the beasts of the fields? You are the Lords of the earth! Go forth to claim the empty throne Of Heaven and be gods.

In secret they worked Magic upon magic All their power and all their vanity They turned against the Veil Until at last, it gave way.

Above them, a river of Light, Before them the throne of Heaven, waiting, Beneath their feet The footprints of the Maker, And all around them echoed a vast Silence.

But when they took a single step Toward the empty throne A great voice cried out Shaking the very foundations Of Heaven and earth:

And So is the Golden City blackened With each step you take in my Hall. Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting. You have brought Sin to Heaven And doom upon all the world.

Violently were they cast down, For no mortal may walk bodily In the realm of dreams, Bearing the mark of their Crime: Bodies so maimed And distorted that none should see them And know them for men.

Deep into the earth they fled, Away from the Light. In Darkness eternal they searched For those who had goaded them on, Until at last they found their prize, Their god, their betrayer: The sleeping dragon Dumat. Their taint Twisted even the false-god, and the whisperer Awoke at last, in pain and horror, and led Them to wreak havoc upon all the nations of the world: The first Blight. --Threnodies 8:9-8:15 In the absence of light, shadows thrive -- Canticle of Threnodies 8:21

''Those who had sought to claim Heaven by violence destroyed it. What was Golden and pure turned black. Those who had once been mage-lords, The brightest of their age, Were no longer men, but monsters. --Threnodies'' 12:1.

Canticle of Andraste
''And there I saw the Black City,  Its towers forever stain'd, '' ''Its gates forever shut.  Heaven has been filled with silence,  I knew then,  And cross'd my heart with shame.''

-- Canticle of Andraste 1:11

''Those who oppose thee ''Shall know the wrath of heaven. ''Field and forest shall burn, ''The seas shall rise and devour them, ''The wind shall tear their nations ''From the face of the earth, ''Lightning shall rain down from the sky, ''They shall cry out to their false gods, ''And find silence. ''--Andraste 7:19.

Canticle of Trials
''I shall not be left to wander the drifting roads of the Fade;  For there is no darkness, nor death either, in the Maker's Light.  And nothing that He has wrought shall be lost. '' -- Canticle of Trials 1:14

Canticle of Transfigurations
These truths the Maker has revealed to me:

As there is but one world,

One life, one death, there is

But one god, and He is our Maker.

They are sinners, who have given their love

To false gods.

Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him.

Foul and corrupt are they

Who have taken His gift

And turned it against His children.

They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones.

They shall find no rest in this world

Or beyond.

All men are the Work of our Maker's Hands,

From the lowest slaves

To the highest kings.

Those who bring harm

Without provocation to the least of His children

Are hated and accursed by the Maker.

Those who bear false witness

And work to deceive others, know this:

There is but one Truth.

All things are known to our Maker

And He shall judge their lies.

All things in this world are finite.

What one man gains, another has lost.

Those who steal from their brothers and sisters

Do harm to their livelihood and to their peace of mind.

Our Maker sees this with a heavy heart.

--Transfigurations 1:1-1:5

Many are those who wander in sin, Despairing that they are lost forever, But the one who repents, who has faith Unshaken by the darkness of the world, And boasts not, nor gloats Over the misfortunes of the weak, but takes delight In the Maker's law and creations, she shall know The peace of the Maker's benediction. The Light shall lead her safely Through the paths of this world, and into the next. For she who trusts in the Maker, fire is her water. As the moth sees light and goes toward flame, She should see fire and go towards Light. The Veil holds no uncertainty for her, And she will know no fear of death, for the Maker Shall be her beacon and her shield, her foundation and her sword.

--From Transfigurations 10. (verse unknown)

"O Maker, hear my cry:

Guide me through the blackest nights

Steel my heart against the temptations of the wicked

Make me to rest in the warmest places.

O Creator, see me kneel:

For I walk only where You would bid me

Stand only in places You have blessed

Sing only the words You place in my throat

My Maker, know my heart

Take from me a life of sorrow

Lift me from a world of pain

Judge me worthy of Your endless pride

My Creator, judge me whole:

Find me well within Your grace

Touch me with fire that I be cleansed

Tell me I have sung to Your approval

O Maker, hear my cry:

Seat me by Your side in death

Make me one within Your glory

And let the world once more see Your favor

For You are the fire at the heart of the world

And comfort is only Yours to give.”

-- Canticle of Transfigurations 12:1-6

''Foul and corrupt are you ''Who have taken My gift ''And turned it against My children. --Transfigurations 18:10.

Other
Other known verses from the Chant of Light, for which the Canticle is unknown.