Alienage


 * ''"The group walked into an elven alienage, a walled-off part of a large city. The buildings here were mostly hovels, crammed close together and even on top of one another.  It was a haphazard pile of tenements and dirty shops, washing lines strewn across the street sometimes going up two or even three stories high.


 * ''"The street itself was mostly mud, the worn paths filled with stale water and smelling of dung. The only spot of color in the entire quarter was the central square, where a well-tended oak tree spread its branches wide, its vibrantly green leaves forming a canopy that left much of the ground beneath it dry.  A wooden stage had been built there, adorned with poles that were covered in bright blue garlands.  A place of celebration, Duncan imagined, even if there was nothing on the dusty stage now."


 * ''--From Dragon Age: The Calling

Alienages are squalid city wards in which elven citizens dwell.

Background
Though elven enslavement is an uncomfortable memory in most parts of Thedas, the lot of city elves is far from equal. While there are rarely laws which strictly prohibit elves and humans integrating, an elf who moves into a human area is likely to be subjected to insults, torment and, in many cases, violence. It is for this reason that the alienages exist: a place for elves to mix among their own, where they do not stand out as much.

The unfortunate flip side of this isolation is that humans tend to let the elves in the city fend for themselves, at times to their detriment, such as during riots when the alienage is sealed while the elves destroy their own homes in outrage until hunger forces them to relent. This indifference extends to allowing the alienages to go on without access to regular city services human inhabitants might take for granted.

Alienage culture


Alienages are the one area of human cities where elven culture is evident (diminished though it may be). The most striking testaments to this are the presence of a Hahren or "elder" and, undoubtedly, the vhenadahl (or, "Tree of the People"). This huge tree rests in the centre of the alienage, and serves as a symbol of Arlathan - the first elven homeland. These trees are often decorated vibrantly, their bases being painted and candles being lit around it, though the trees' upkeep have recently become more of a habit than a respected tradition.

Though the realities of alienage life may seem harsh, the city elves are a downtrodden but spirited folk, and an alienage often serves to keep prejudiced invaders out, as much as to pen the elves in. Indeed, despite their plight Ferelden elves for example tend to very proud of the relative freedom of their lives compared to city elves in Orlais. There it is said that the sunlight does not reach the alienage's vhenadahl until noon and the walls are so high it seems the elves there are not worthy even to look upon the rest of their city.

Nevertheless, it is not an idyllic life in the alienage, as it is walled off from the rest of its respective city to allow the local guard and other authorities to lick it down if necessary. This has had the benefit of creating greater social autonomy, yet also encouraged greater isolation of the elves as well as reinforcing their substandard status.

Alienage elves typically share human beliefs, usually worshipping the Maker and Andraste, and shunning the gods that their Dalish cousins hold faith with. Despite this, it is rare that an elf will be taken into the Chantry as an initiate, and full-fledged elven members of the clergy are exceptionally scarce, if any do exist at all.





Though elves are generally happy in the city, alienages are a hotbed of crime, disease and extreme poverty, with most of its elves barely managing to get by on a day-to-day basis. Some elves may manage to scrape together small savings by opening a store or finding work as labourers, though for the majority, the possibility of going hungry is simply a fact of life. Disease is also widespread in the elven slums, and virulent plagues often spring up in alienages.

Furthermore, though slavery is technically illegal in all countries except the Tevinter Imperium, it still occurs in places like Orlais under the guise of servitude. Elves are frequently lured by the promise of profitable work or a warm bed, and drawn into the slave trade.

Known alienages

 * Denerim Alienage, a filthy and dilapidated place. Many of its inhabitants were cut down during a rebellion in 9: 30 Dragon.
 * Kirkwall Alienage, a collection of cramped slums tucked away in the city's poorest district.
 * Val Royeaux Alienage, home to ten thousand elves who are confined to an area the size of the market of Denerim.
 * Highever Alienage, mentioned only in Dragon Age: Origins.
 * Amaranthine Alienage, mentioned only in Dragon Age: Warden's Fall. A dwarf Bartholomew runs a brothel employing elves from the alienage.
 * Teraevyn Alienage, in the Tevinter Imperium

Trivia

 * The concept of Alienages is comparable to Jewish Ghettos which date back from the medieval era, the most famous was in Venice. Indeed, According to David Gaider, the alienages were originally inspired by medieval Jewish ghettos, and as Thedas is a fictionalized version of Europe, that inspiration eventually encompassed other historical aspects that were added to alienage culture.
 * Common foods among city elves include "salt chews," a fishy-smelling item found in shops in the alienage.
 * Regarding the vhenadahl, according to Zevran,"Elves plant these trees to remind themselves of who they once were. And then they pee on it. Charming symbolism, really."
 * Though many elves are too proud to do so, it is not unknown for desperation to force city elves to eat rats (or the "rabbits of the city," as they are called ) or cats to survive.