Kossith



"Anyone who travels far enough to the north will eventually encounter the Qunari: White-haired, bronze-skinned giants, a head again taller than a man, with frighteningly calm demeanors and a sort of sparkling fire behind their eyes."

The kossith, better known as Qunari, are a large humanoid race hailing from the island nations of Par Vollen and Seheron in northern Thedas. They have bronze-hued skin, white hair, pointed ears, and vivid eyes with colors like violet, red, or yellow. Qunari are considered physically more robust than humans.

In Dragon Age II, it is revealed that most Qunari have horns. Some are born without them, but it is not considered a defect — on the contrary, those born without horns are considered special, as they are meant for a special role in Qunari society such as a Ben-Hassrath or an envoy to the other races. Sten, as a soldier of the Beresaad, falls into this category. It is not uncommon for Qunari who betray their beliefs to remove their own horns (as in the case of Armaas), though the reason for this act is not yet clear.

Qunari don't use names to identify themselves, but titles. Their "names" are strings of genealogical information used by the Tamassrans for record-keeping. Qunari are rarely seen in Ferelden with the exception of some high-class mercenaries (such as the Kadan-Fe).

While all of Thedas identifies the race of horned giants as the Qunari, this is inaccurate: Qunari means "people of the Qun", and includes any who follow what the Qun teaches. Therefore, any and all who accept the teachings of the Qunari, be it humans or elves, are themselves Qunari. On the other hand, Kossith who do not are actually Tal-Vashoth.

History
The Qunari are recent arrivals to Thedas, having arrived by warships four centuries ago from unknown eastern land across the Northern Ocean, with which contact has been lost some time during the Storm Age. While they once threatened to conquer all of the known world, they are currently involved in a war for dominance of the north against the Tevinter Imperium. The Qunari are apparently more technologically advanced than the native Thedosian cultures, possessing cannons and an impressive navy. The Beresaad is the name of the Qunari military division Sten belongs to. According to Sten, the Beresaad serves as "the vanguard of the Qunari people". The Qunari lack mages in anything near the numbers that Ferelden has as magic is completely distrusted, and what few Qunari mages there are bound in chains and have their mouths sewn shut and occasionally tongues cut out. Several Exalted Marches have been waged against them and they've lost much land in Thedas. The Qunari still hold Kont-aar in northern Rivain, but that is the only permanent non-island holding the Qunari currently retain. In Par Vollen, the city of Qunandar is reputed to be one of the largest in all of Thedas, rivaling Cumberland in Nevarra, with structural grandeur such as aqueducts and domes unseen elsewhere.

When the Qunari invade an area and capture the current citizens, they offer them the opportunity to convert to their philosophy, or be sent to work in prison camps. Any who resists either one are slain without pity, but some of those who convert to the Qun claim to feel pity towards those who choose not to. When the Qunari were pushed back by the Exalted Marches, the Chantry was disturbed to discover that a surprisingly large number of members of their faith had quite happily converted to the foreign religion.

Part 1: Arrival of the Giants
“While historians often cite the darkspawn as the greatest single threat to Thedas, most people outside of the dwarven lands would say they are a more remote threat than the invaders called the Qunari. There has not been a Blight in over four centuries, after all, since the hero Garahel defeated the Archdemon at the Battle of Ayesleigh. Over a hundred years later, in 6:30 Steel Age, the first Qunari ships were reported off the coast of Par Vollen in the far north, marking the beginning of a new age of warfare.

Gold-skinned giants said to hail from an eastern land across the Boeric Ocean, the Qunari are a mystery to most people. To some, they are hated conquerors whose deadly skill at combat and destructive technology nearly brought the civilized world to its knees. To others they are heathens, worshippers of a strange religion that seek to spread it to “lesser” races by force. Still to others, such as in the southern lands of Ferelden, they are a legend, strange creatures from the far north that have been seen only on rare occasion since the peace began.

Almost before the rest of Thedas had heard of the Qunari’s appearance in Par Vollen they were invading the mainland, striking first into Rivain and Seheron. The defenders of those lands were hardly a match for Qunari discipline and technology. One shot of the mighty cannons, the likes of which our ancestors of the time had never seen before, brought troops to their knees. Qunari warriors in glittering steel armor carved through the defenders with ease. History calls this the First Qunari War, but it was mostly a one-sided bloodbath, with the Qunari advancing far into Tevinter within ten years.

It was a dark time for Thedas, with the nations of mankind being forced to once again unite against a common enemy… this one intending not to destroy, as the darkspawn did, but rather to conquer a land they saw as in dire need of enlightenment. The Qunari proved themselves to be the most frightening sort of opponent of all: religious zealots.”

-- an excerpt from “Tales of the Destruction of Thedas” by Brother Genitivi, Chantry Scholar.

Part 2: The Golden Masters
“Stories of how the Qunari treated the lands they occupied, ‘kabethari’ being the term for those lands in their language and supposedly meaning ‘those who need to be taught’, are varied and difficult to verify. Some claim that the Qunari were guilty of terrorizing the populace. They divided children from their families and sent adults to ‘learning camps’ for indoctrination in their religious philosophies. Those who refused to obey were forced into indentured servitude or sent to mines or construction camps to labor… often until they perished of sheer exhaustion or starvation. Those who resisted were slain, instantly and without mercy. Many who obeyed their new masters, however, claim that they were treated well and even given a large amount of trust provided they followed the strict Qunari codes of conduct and laws.

For every tale of suffering recorded, there was another that tells of enlightenment from something called the ‘qun’. This is either a philosophical code or a written text, perhaps both, and some claim it may even be akin to the Qunari god. Unlike the Chant of Light it governs all aspects of Qunari life, both secular and spiritual, and the Qunari are devoted to following its tenets strictly and without question.

Those who recorded their interactions with the golden masters tell of mighty creatures, a head again taller than a man, with frighteningly calm demeanors and a sort of sparkling fire behind their eyes. Some even said they have a certain kindness to them, or a conspicuous lack of cruelty, and one Seheran who converted reported pity for those who had not, as if the conquerors’ religion led to a sort of self-discovery. ‘For all my life I followed the Maker wherever his path may lead me,’ he writes, ‘but in the faith of the qun I have found the means to travel my own path. If only all my people could understand what it is the Qunari offer us.’

It is said that the most complete way to wipe out a people is not with weapons, but with books. Thankfully, a world that had known and repelled four Blights would not so easily bow to a foreign aggressor. The New Exalted Marches were about to begin.”

-- an excerpt from “Tales of the Destruction of Thedas” by Brother Genitivi, Chantry Scholar.

Part 3: The New Exalted Marches
“Taking their names from the Exalted Marches of the past, the New Exalted Marches were declared by the Chantry in 7:25 Storm Age after nearly a century of internecine warfare throughout northern Thedas. The Imperial Chantry in Minrathous (the only unoccupied major Tevinter city) marched against Seheron and the occupied eastern territories of the Imperium, and the Divine in Val Royeaux commanded her templars to lead the armies of the south into Rivain. It was the grandest mobilization of martial power since the Fourth Blight.

The greatest advantage that the Chantry-led forces had against the Qunari was, in fact, the Circle of Magi. For all their technology, the Qunari appeared to harbor a great hatred for all things magical. They possessed mages, but these were little better than animals kept on leashes… and none of the Qunari mages possessed anywhere near the skill that the Circle’s mages had. Faced with cannons, the Chantry responded with lightning and balls of fire and it proved effective indeed.

For all the force that the Qunari armies had brought to bear on the north, they also lacked the sheer numbers of the humans. As each year passed, the Chantry pushed further and further into the Qunari lines. Dealing with those of the local populace which had converted to the Qunari religion proved difficult, especially as some of these had lived under the qun now for generations, and the response by many armies was simply to exterminate all those who had converted. Officially the Chantry denies this, claiming most converts fled north into Rivain and Par Vollen, but the mass graves at Nocen Fields and Marnus Pell attest otherwise. Indeed, so many were slain at Marnus Pell that the Veil is said to be permanently sundered, the ruins still plagued by restless corpses to this day.

Regardless of how it was done, by 7:84 Storm Age the Qunari had been well and truly pushed back. Rivain was the only human land that embraced the Qunari religion after being freed, and its rulers attempted to barter a peace. Envoys from most human lands gathered to sign the Llomerryn Accord, and peace was made between the Qunari and all human lands other than the Tevinter Imperium. Even there, however, the Qunari withdrew. Humanity had, with the Maker’s will, beat back the invaders and returned to its rightful place as masters of Thedas.

It is a shaky peace that has lasted to this very day.”

-- an excerpt from “Tales of the Destruction of Thedas” by Brother Genitivi, Chantry Scholar.

Society
Qunari have no "family units": they do not marry, choose partners, or even know to whom they are related. A Qunari's "family" consists of his or her coworkers.

A Qunari's personal name is not what we think of as a name. It is more like a social security number, information which the Tamassrans use to keep track of breeding, and is thus not something a Qunari uses to refer to one another. What a Qunari instead thinks of as their name is, in fact, their job title, which is differentiated by rank and task.

The Tamassrans raise all the children, give them their general education, and evaluate them. Qunari are officially assigned their roles at twelve years of age. The Tamassrans do conduct some tests, however nothing requiring a pencil. They also have something of a head start on the process, as they are the ones who control the Qunari selective breeding program.

The Tamassrans wield a great amount of influence in Qunari society. As it is primarily a female gender role (as all administrative tasks are), this might lead an outsider to believe that their society is female-dominated. Qunari do not, however, look upon rulership quite the same way. The brain could be said to rule the body, but so too does the heart, the lungs, the stomach. All are part of the greater whole.

Qunari believe that the genders are inherently better at certain tasks: No matter how much aptitude a male shows for management, he will never be quite as good at it as a female, therefore it would be considered inefficient to place him in a role where a woman might serve better. Instead, the Tamassrans would find another role that he shows aptitude for, and place him there instead.

Qunari have been bred for specific roles for a very long time. Parentage is no longer really the issue anymore; more like pedigree. However, breeding does not determine one's assigned task. If a Qunari was bred to be a soldier, but turns out to be more intellectual -- the Tamassrans may stick them in the priesthood, researching weapons technology, or the Ben-Hassrath, policing the populace, or who knows what, depending on what roles need to be filled by someone with their specific traits.

All Qunari are given a tool which signifies their role in Qunari society; for soldiers, this tools is always a weapon on some kind. In the case of soldiers, at least, to lose this weapon brands the owner as soulless, and to be be executed on sight by the Antaam. These items are held in high regard, and upon the owner's death the Qunari may take the item to honor the fallen individual. A corpse is considered an insignificant husk that is no longer the individual that it once was, and thus is afforded no special treatment, rather disposed of whatever manner is most practical.

Qunari have their own mages. These saarebas (literally "dangerous thing", from the root word bas, thing/object) are considered defective tools - but the Qunari do not waste those, either. These Qunari mages are kept literally on leashes, held by an arvaarad ("one who holds back evil", i.e. their "handler"). Should they ever be seen performing forbidden magic, the mage's tongue is immediately cut out in order to prevent them from communicating and possibly corrupting someone else.

Qunari do not have currency. "Merchants" in Qunari cities have the job of making sure that goods are distributed appropriately. Qunari do not buy and sell things amongst one another.

Qunari generally do not associate mating with love. They feel love. They have friends. They form emotional bonds with one another. However, they simply do not sleep with each other to express it. If they do, then they are sent to be reeducated by the Ben-Hassrath. If a child is produced, the same thing happens as with all other Qunari children: sent to be raised by the Tamassrans, evaluated, and assigned a job. Qunari do not waste resources unnecessarily, people included.

Qunari society is based upon learning as well as military might. Few speak the common tongue that is used among Theodesians, and fewer speak it well. For this reason, Qunari often keep quiet among foreigners, out of shame -- in a culture that strives for perfection and mastery, to possess only a passable degree of skill is humiliating, indeed.

Duty is paramount in Qunari culture, and their society is seen as a living entity, whose wellbeing is the responsibility of all. Each person is like a drop of blood in the veins of the being, and they must do not what is best for them, but what is best for the creature. The Qunari army is the eyes, ears, legs, arms, and hands of the creature: everything that one needs to interact with the world, and so most Qunari encountered by Theodesians belong to the military. One cannot understand somebody by simply studying their hand or foot, and so to truly comprehend Qunari society, one must vist their cities, where the heart and soul dwell.

The primary symbol used to represent the Qunari as a people is a triangle, which symbolizes Qunari triumvirate of body, mind, and soul. The "body" is represented by the Arishok (the military), the "mind" by the Arigena (the craftsmen), and the "soul" by the Ariqun (the priests).

It is this triumvirate which governs all of Qunari society by acting as the three pillars, or their three primary leaders in all matters: the Arishok who leads the armies, the Arigena who leads the craftsmen, and the Ariqun who leads the priesthood. All three are the head of their respective "paths", and work in unison to complete the whole of Qunari society.

Technology
The technology of the Qunari is far greater than the rest of Thedas, possessing Gunpowder and Cannons. With these technologies they were able to conquer a large amount of land, including parts of the Tevinter Imperium. It wasn't until mass amounts of Magi were used against them that they lost their conquests, magical attacks being a counter for their cannons.

The Qun
The Qun is the religion of the Qunari, though it is closer to a philosophy than a full-fledged religion. It governs every part of Qunari life - even the governing structure is dictated by it, and it gives every Qunari a defined and fixed place in their society, either as a soldier (part of the body), as a craftsman (part of the mind) or as a priest (part of the soul). Fanatical in their devotion, they seem to seek to convert all of Thedas to the Qun, giving conquered citizens the choice of either converting, being sent to work at prison camps or getting slain.

All followers of the Qun are considered heathens by the Chantry; all converts regarded as heretics, traitors of their teachings and subjects of prosecution.

Trivia

 * The Qunari have been nicknamed “militant Islamic Borg” by Lead Writer David Gaider. Gaider later clarified that he meant this as reference to the Qunari's relationship with the other nations of Thedas, not to the specific tenets of Islam.
 * The Qunari are quite likely based partially on the Ottoman Empire and Seljuk Turks, as they are mortal enemies of the Tevinter Imperium, the latter of which has been equated to the Byzantine empire. They possess advanced technology including cannons, are considered heathens by the Chantry and have been the target of multiple Exalted Marches, the Chantry's equivalent to a Christian Crusade.
 * David Gaider has said that Qunari architecture is influenced by Mayan architecture.
 * When a female Qunari is turned into a Broodmother by darkspawn, she produces Ogres.
 * The structure of Qunari society is identical to that of the ideal community outlined in Plato's Republic, which divides the population into Producers (farmers, artisans, laborers, etc.), Auxiliaries (warriors), and Guardians (rulers). In The Republic, Plato (through the voice of the protagonist Socrates) also draws somewhat upon the warrior culture of ancient Sparta when designing the "Auxiliary" class of citizens.
 * There are no female Qunari in either Dragon Age: Origins or Dragon Age II. This is likely due to the Qunari belief that women cannot be warriors, although concept art featuring one does exist.

Notable Qunari

 * Arishok
 * Ashaad
 * Ketojan
 * Sten
 * Taarbas

Notable Tal-Vashoth

 * Armaas
 * Jarvy
 * Tennant
 * Maraas