The Anderfels is a human nation in northern Thedas. It is located far northwest from the more familiar Ferelden, beyond Nevarra and the Tevinter Imperium. The Anderfels is best known for being the birthplace of the Grey Wardens and the site of their headquarters, the Weisshaupt Fortress.
History
The Anderfels was originally the western part of the Tevinter Imperium, from which it separated after a rebellion c. -695 Ancient (500 TE). It was reconquered by Tevinter c. -415 Ancient (780 TE). Shortly after, the first Blight began in -395 Ancient (800 TE) and Tevinter was heavily hit. After almost 100 years of bitter war with the darkspawn, the order of the Grey Wardens was founded at Weisshaupt Fortress approximately -305 Ancient (890 TE), and the Blight was slowly pushed back during the next century or so.
After the first Blight, Tevinter held on to the Anderfels for about 200 years, but abandoned it to protect central Tevinter when the second Blight began in 1:5 Divine (1199 TE). The Anderfels was nearly destroyed by the Blight, but saved by Emperor Kordillus Drakon I, starting with the lifting of the siege of Weisshaupt in 1:33 Divine, and joined to the Orlesian Empire as well as converted to the Chantry of Andraste. After the death of Kordillus Drakon I, his successor could not hold the empire together and the Anderfels broke free again c. 1:65 Divine. The second Blight was ended in 1:95 Divine.
The third Blight from 3:10 Towers to 3:25 Towers mostly maimed areas to south and east of the Anderfels, starting in Tevinter and Orlais and being ended in the Free Marches. The Anderfels got off relatively easily. This didn't last, however. In 5:12 Exalted, fourth Blight began and spread to the Anderfels, the darkspawn laying siege to Hossberg, which was released by an army lead by the Grey Warden hero Garahel in 5:20 Exalted. The Blight was again decided elsewhere, this time in eastern Antiva in 5:24 Exalted.
Geography
Geographically, the Anderfels consists mostly of steppes, largely deserted after weathering several Blights. The capital is Hossberg, located northwest from Weisshaupt.
Culture and Society
The people of the Anderfels are known as Anders and they were the first non-dwarven people to fight the darkspawn.
It houses the headquarters of the Grey Wardens, Weisshaupt Fortress.[1]. Riordan tells you that the king of Anderfels is weak and the people refer to the Grey Wardens for leadership, with some of the Wardens liking it that way. He also tells the Warden that there are over a thousand Wardens present in the Anderfels. The Anderfels is the last place where the Grey Wardens have retained their importance over the centuries. They hold political power equal to the various barons, a power they have recently taken greater advantage of.
The darkspawn are a constant menace that can appear almost anywhere at anytime, and the population lives in constant fear and vigilance as a result. They are the hardened warriors who fight grimly against an enemy that they cannot defeat: the rest of Thedas is remote enough that their plight is easily ignored. The Anders are a poor people who live in a devastated land of vast, stark steppes, though their proud culture remains, and they are likely the most pious followers of the Chantry in Thedas, praying for a day when they are released from the clutches of the Blight.
Language
- The word loch is Anderfel for 'man' and the origin of the names for genlocks and hurlocks. As the Anders were the first to achieve major success against the darkspawn hordes, the names used by them eventually stuck.
Trivia
- The name for the Anderfels was originally going to be Orthland.
- The Anderfels appear to be very loosely based on the real-world Holy Roman Empire, which was the medieval German state. Writer David Gaider has stated that the Anderfels are "German in character, maybe a bit more on the Visigoth side." [2] Presumably, characters from the Anderfels would speak with German accents.
- The Anderfels also bear a resemblance to medieval Russia and Mongolia with their hardened warriors and vast steppes.
- Weiss is German for 'white' and haupt is archaic German for 'head'—contemporarily, it's mainly used to mean 'main'. This could be translated as "white top" or "white headquarters".
- Anders is German for 'other', 'another', or 'different'; fels is 'rock' or 'mountain'.
- Grey Wardens having stronger influence than the king could be based on the Order of the Teutonic Knights and their state.
- In one of his less serious stories, Alistair says he was actually raised by dogs from the Anderfels. Apparently they could also fly and were devout Andrastians.
References
Prima Game Guide (Collector's Edition)