Red lyrium

An ancient form of Lyrium, the so-called "Red Lyrium" is a even more dangerous than its normal counterpart. Known to give its user supernatural abilities at the cost of their sanity.

History
Red Lyrium is without a doubt, ancient. Found in a thaig over tens of thousands of years old, a Lyrium Idol created from red lyrium was the subject of worship to the prehistoric dwarves of the Primeval Thaig. Somehow, even before the rise of the Darkspawn, contact with the thaig was somehow lost, and could not be recovered due to the massive amount of darkspawn that far into the Deep Roads.

Despite this, tens of thousands of years later, during the events of Dragon Age II, the thaig was rediscovered during a Deep Roads expedition. The expedition was lead by the two dwarven brothers, Bartrand and Varric Tethras]], and the human, Hawke.

A Red Lyrium Idol was found by Hawke and Varric. When given to Bartrand, it made him betray the former two, saying, "I'm not splitting it three ways!", and sealing Hawke and Varric in the Primeval Thaig.

Effects on the Mind
Red Lyrium is mysterious, and its effects on the mind are dangerous. Its power could potentially make anyone insane; even a normally lyrium-resistant dwarf is susceptible to its effects. However, it did exhibit unnatural powers to its wielder, granting the ability to animate inanimate objects, such as statues, and the power of limited flight.