Black Age

The Black Age (4:00–4:99)^{[note 1]} is the fourth named Age in the history of Thedas. The Black Age is named as the Orlesian Chantry calls for retribution against the so-called "Black" Divine of the Imperial Chantry in the Tevinter Imperium.

Chronology

• 4:00 Black: Werewolves, beasts long known in Fereldan lore, are said to reemerge in the form of regular people. In an attempt to combat the threat, local folks place dogs as guards, believing in their ability to detect werewolves. The subsequent events go down in history as a particularly bloody conflict, which ends with the apparent extinction of werewolves. Legends claim it was the Alamarri hero Dane who led the fight against the werewolves in the early Black Age.^[note]

The following information is mentioned only in Dragon Age: Origins: Prima Official Game Guide. Certain portions of this publication, particularly the Traveler's Guide featured in the Collector's Edition, might not reflect currently established lore.

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Werewolves become an epidemic at the beginning of the Black Age and continue to harass humanity over the century. It's believed their ability to assume human form stems from a deal with dark powers. Fereldan settlements become fearful of the hidden threat; family members accuse each other of being werewolves. The city of Gwaren is invaded by the beasts and over a quarter of its population is killed. The werewolves are eventually defeated but the locals suffer heavy losses. A legend about a race of half-shape-shifters dubbed "ferals" comes into existence.

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• 4:20 Black: Herbalists re-discover the "medicinal qualities" of elfroot.

• 4:22 Black: The Antivan King Guiomar the Younger meets his end at the hands of Callisto di Bastion, a wealthy courtesan who is said to have received training from both the Orlesian bards and the Antivan Crows.

• 4:30 Black: Asha Subira Bahadur, the future Queen of Antiva and "Queen Mother of Thedas," is born in Rivain.

• 4:40 Black–5:10 Exalted: The Orlesian Chantry declares a series of four Exalted Marches to deal with the heretics within the Imperial Chantry and bring the Tevinter Imperium back into the fold. Large armies are dispatched by the nations loyal to the southern Chantry, but each time they fail to conquer Minrathous. In the end, the Exalted Marches don't fulfill the intended goal and only cement the schism between the two branches of the Chantry. The Imperial Chantry begins to establish its own dogma.

The following information is mentioned only in Dragon Age: Origins: Prima Official Game Guide. Certain portions of this publication, particularly the Traveler's Guide featured in the Collector's Edition, might not reflect currently established lore.

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Mages who flee persecution in the south go Tevinter, strengthening the Imperium's dwindling power.

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• 4:45 Black: The most famous elven criminal in Orlais, Alidda of Halamshiral, is arrested for slaying twelve chevaliers. She escapes and kills twenty more, before cutting her throat to avoid capture.

• 4:46 Black: Divine Clemence I commissions Tevinter fugitive (and former magister) Adralla of Vyrantium to create the Litany of Adralla. The Litany is meant to shield the user from blood mages and demonic possession.

• 4:52 Black: The Great Riot of Val Royeaux occurs. Some historians allege that the riot was sparked by a performance of the lost play The Setting of the Light.

• 4:80–84 Black: The Orlesian Empire dispatches its army across the Frostback Mountains to invade the Fereldan Valley for the first time, taking advantage of the Alamarri tribes' disorganization. However, the Alamarri teyrns manage to set aside their grievances and unite in order to push the Orlesian Empire back. In 4:83 Black, the Orlesians plan to capture the port Highever, but they fail to defeat the fortress of Redcliffe in a timely manner, which leaves many Orlesian units without supplies during the winter in the mountains. By the spring of 4:84 Black, most of the invaders retreat or are captured.

• 4:85 Black: Alamarri legends of Dane and the Werewolf are recorded about a time in the past when the tribes suffered repeated werewolf attacks until the hero Dane managed to slay the lycanthropes. The events these legends refer to most likely took place in the Divine Age.^{[note 2]}

• 4:90 Black: Fortress Haine is built in the western Vimmark Mountains by Lord Norbert de la Haine. He uses it to launch multiple campaigns against the Marcher city-states but all of his attempts are unsuccesful.

• 4:99 Black: Divine Justinia II names the next age Exalted in recognition of the on-going Exalted Marches against the Tevinter Imperium.

Notes

• The "Ages" description in Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 1 page 21, erroneously describes every age starting with year 1 and ending with year 99, claiming the Glory Age took place between 2:1-2:99, the Towers Age between 3:1-3:99 etc. This is directly contradicted in the timeline within the same book, which cites the existence of 3:00 Towers, 4:00 Black, and 9:00 Dragon. Such a system would result in each age lasting ninety-nine years, not one hundred.
• Although Codex entry: Werewolf states it was Dane who led the crusade against the werewolf threat in the early Black Age, this conflicts with other sources that describe Dane as the father of Hafter, the first Alamarri teyrn who lived during the Divine Age, three centuries prior.