No one knows what it is that drives the darkspawn in their relentless search for the sleeping Old Gods. Perhaps it is instinct, as moths will fly into torch flames. Perhaps there is some remnant of desire for vengeance upon the ones who goaded the magisters to assault heaven. Whatever the reason, when darkspawn find one of these ancient dragons, it is immediately afflicted by the taint. It awakens twisted and corrupted, and leads the darkspawn in a full-scale invasion of the land: a Blight.
—From Codex entry: ArchdemonArchdemons 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.
Involvement
The archdemon in the Dead Trenches
The archdemon in Dragon Age: Origins is revealed to be Urthemiel, the Tevinter god of beauty. Its first appearance occurs in a vision when the Warden drinks darkspawn blood during his Joining ceremony. It appears again in another vision in the Party Camp. When the Warden travels to the Dead Trenches—the ruins of the dwarven fortress of Bownammar—the archdemon will be actually seen in the flesh.
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 Grey Warden present, 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 him before the battle, offering to bear his child so that it may absorb the archdemon in the Warden's place. If the Warden is female, she can ask Alistair to make the same deal. If the female character has recruited the Secret Companion and put him through the Joining, Morrigan can make the deal with him as well.
The 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 Elven 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.
Strategy
- See also: [[:Archdemon (Strategy)|Archdemon (Strategy)]]
