Archdemon

Archdemons are the Old Gods manifested in the form of powerful and terrifying dragons, and tainted by darkspawn. They possess an intelligence far beyond the average dragon and are purely evil creatures.

Normally, the darkspawn are organized as a simple hive-mind concerned only with expanding the horde and finding an Old God. They rarely appear on the surface except in raids and small invasions. However, a true Blight begins when the darkspawn find a leader who unites them into a great horde and unleashes them onto the surface in a wave of darkness and destruction. This leader is an Archdemon and a Blight will not end until the Archdemon leading it is destroyed.

Since the dwarves managed to fend off the darkspawn invasion of the Deep Roads after the First Blight, no Archdemon has led a Blight against them.

thumb|300px|right|The first physical encounter with the Archdemon. The archdemon is first really seen in the Dead Trenches.

The first appearance of an archdemon in the game occurs when The Warden drinks the tainted blood of the darkspawn during the Joining. However, when the Warden travels to the Dead Trenches, an Archdemon will be seen in the flesh. The Archdemon in the game was a Tevinter god of beauty named Urthemiel.

The Warden discovers on the eve of the Battle of Denerim that the Archdemon must be killed by a Grey Warden. If killed by anyone else, as Riordan explains, it will move into the body of the closest Darkspawn (who are soulless), making it almost immortal, short of exterminating every Darkspawn in existence. However, if a Grey Warden is the one to kill it, the Archdemon will seek out the body of the Grey Warden. The result of two souls attempting to occupy the same body causes both to be destroyed. As the eldest surviving Grey Warden, Riordan volunteers to be the one to slay the Archdemon.

If the Warden is male and has a high enough level of approval Morrigan will make a deal with the Warden on the eve before battle. She will offer to bear the Warden's child so that it may have the taint and absorb the archdemon if the Warden will allow her to keep it. If the Warden is female, player can ask Alistair to make the same deal, since he is a Warden too. If the female character earlier elected to put Loghain through the joining, thus replacing Alistair in the party, Morrigan will make this deal with Loghain instead.

Battle of Denerim
The capital of Denerim is the site of a major darkspawn offensive and this is where The Warden will fight the Archdemon, with the help of the allies gained by using the Grey Warden treaties. At first there is no real sight of the Archdemon until it is seen flying over the city followed by a charge of human soldiers.

The next sighting of the Archdemon is at the Alienage, as the Warden and allies take their leave of the area after saving the Alienage (or possibly leaving it to a grisly fate) and disposing of the Hurlock General there, the Archdemon will make an appearance - flying overhead and destroying the bridge making it impossible for the group to turn back.

Along with the remnants of whatever troops Riordan had led into the area dealing with darkspawn, Riordan himself will be atop a tower where he ends the life of a darkspawn before the Archdemon takes notice of his presence. The Archdemon swoops past the tower and Riordan jumps onto the Archdemon's back, keeping himself on board as it flies through the air by stabbing his sword into its back. The Archdemon struggles to be rid of Riordan and eventually tosses him off, but in the throw Riordan pierces the Archdemon's wing and slices through it as he falls off to his death. The Archdemon however suffers from the blow and crashes into Fort Drakon where it awaits the Warden while it slaughters whatever soldiers are stationed there.

As the Warden reaches the top of the fortress, the Warden is greeted by the sight of the Archdemon making quick work of some Human soldiers. It's at last time for the final battle...the battle that will end the Blight.