Codex: The Mourn Watch

The-Sea codex — The Sea tarot card. (See new image)

This article lists all codex entries in the The Mourn Watch section in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Rare Poetry

Main article: Codex entry: Rare Poetry

A note from Neve, attached to three slim volumes of poetry:

Emmrich—took some digging, but I know a lady who knows a book collector who sells to the Archon's Palace. He said these are some of the last copies of Naidia Ulpius's work. What with her being dead, if you arrange a reprint, their value plunges. Don't think you'll mind though.

P.S. The book collector said if I wanted obscure poets, there's a good one in Rivain. Had debts, works out of print, but he got bailed out by an anonymous donor. Funny thing, it was all in king's gulders. You only see those in Nevarra.

The Dawn of Consciousness

Main article: Codex entry: The Dawn of Consciousness

Let us consider wisps, and urges slighter than wisps. When do these forces—I dare not call them beings at this juncture—begin to change? How does one discern the slow shift from pure magic to that which can name its own interests? What begets a spirit's own self- reflection?

These questions are the moral bedrock of necromancy. Ever-present and vital, they reveal the dignity inherent to us all, mortal and otherwise, by their answers.

—Beginning of a monograph by Professor Emmrich Volkarin: The Dawn of Consciousness: An Exploration of the Nature of the Wisp

Failed Lichdom

Main article: Codex entry: Failed Lichdom

I can't stop imagining Johanna's attempt at lichdom. The incantations, the preparations, the final blow. Then to accomplish nearly everything, all alone, yet still fail...

How she'll chafe at her inability to learn new magic! Is fixing this part of whatever she's planning? What would've happened if we'd stayed friends? Would I have supported Johanna's renegade bid for immortality, outside our oaths? Even joined her?

In the deep hours of the night, I fear my answers.

—From Emmrich's diary

A Distressing Sight

Main article: Codex entry: A Distressing Sight

How I regret visiting Amaranthine today! I'd set out to explore a chantry described in one of Brother Bedine's travelogues (Harding came along, but somehow had her fill after only a few minutes). While inspecting some exquisite mosaics, I spotted a funeral procession through a window. I watched, frozen fast, as the mourners fed a shroud into a bonfire.

Harding didn't understand why I "looked green." Don't those outside Nevarra ever find it heartbreaking, dwelling on the departed without the comfort of a body? Even their ashes are scattered to the wind!

—From Emmrich's diary

New Flora

Main article: Codex entry: New Flora

Nature's overwhelming variety outside my kingdom has been a revelation. It's one thing to see the illustrations in botanical studies, another to touch the bole of a young pine tree, or pluck silver fruits from a bush unknown in Nevarra. I must note down the more interesting flora.

-Drake's-tooth hawthorn: vicious leaves. Davrin showed me one rooted in a sheer cliff in the Anderfels.
-The Brecilian bitter cherry: a wonderful scent, but the fruit's entirely what it sounds like. (Harding's giggling should have warned me.)
-The Ansburg moaning willow: how novel! Unlike some of the willows in the Necropolis, these don't appear to produce any noises of their own at all.

—From Emmrich's diary

Nevarran Hazelnut Torte

Main article: Codex entry: Nevarran Hazelnut Torte

Note from Emmrich, attached to a copied-out recipe:

Lucanis: Here's my mother's hazelnut torte. She made one every Wintersend.

CAKE:
One and a half cups of sugar
Two cups of finely ground toasted hazelnuts Three quarters of a cup of sifted flour
Two teaspoons of baking powder (sift into flour)
Eight eggs, whites & yolks separated
One and a quarter cups of apricot preserves
Apricot liqueur for brushing

ICING:
Eight ounces of chopped up dark chocolate
One cup of heavy cream
Pinch of salt
Two tablespoons of orange liqueur or rum or strong coffee (if wanted)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and light yellow. Beat egg whites in fresh bowl. Mix ground hazelnuts into the egg yolk and sugar. Slowly add flour, then GENTLY!!! fold in egg whites. Butter and flour two eight-and-a-half-inch pans. Bake around an hour, 325 degrees.

Take cakes from pans, cool, split in half. Brush with apricot liqueur. Warm apricot preserves, strain out skins. Spread preserves across the cakes, then some icing, as you stack. Decorate with icing and whole hazelnuts!

ICING:

Gently boil cream, then pour over chopped up chocolate. Add pinch of salt for taste. Stir, then let rest for 15-20 minutes to make sure it's all melted. Cool completely, then whip it up and decorate the cake. Can add in coffee or liqueur (or both) to taste. Can also add in ground hazelnuts when whipping up the icing, to add texture.

A Monthly Stipend

Main article: Codex entry: A Monthly Stipend

I don't understand why Lucanis claims it's "bizarre" for Manfred to receive a modest monthly stipend. Manfred may need the funds one day, and he's capable of making small purchases! (With supervision.) I admit, however, he fancies the strangest things. Some recent acquisitions:

—A silver-backed Antivan hand mirror.
—Twenty blue marbles.
—Four sticks of chalk. (He presented one to Harding.)
—A jeweled brooch shaped like a lizard. (I had to make up the difference. He must learn to tell copper from gold.)
—A brass cup.
—A rather fine quill knife. (Confiscated.)
—Two pounds of almonds. (Removed to the kitchen.)
—Yet more string.

The latest item cost nothing. Manfred's become very fond of a little wooden stick he enjoys pointing about.

—From Emmrich's diary

Emmrich: Note to Harding on Souls

Main article: Codex entry: Emmrich: Note to Harding on Souls

Note left on a thick book:

It wasn't a "silly question" at all. There's an enormous difference between a spirit and a soul, but the metaphysics are rarely taught outside mage Circles.

A soul is the richly numinous force within every living being. You and I, our companions, our opponents—all possess a soul. When we slumber, it slips into the Fade, our most intimate connection with the land of dreams.

A spirit is an entity formed entirely in the Fade from raw magic. While both dwell in intangible regions, a trained mage will never mistake one for the other.

I've found Kravertin's Dialogue of the Outer Reaches to be the best starting book on the subject, if you'd like to peruse his absolutely gripping theories on autogenous liminality.

The Visitation: A Folk Tale

Main article: Codex entry: The Visitation: A Folk Tale

Here's a copy of that Nevarran folk tale you were interested in, Bellara. I heard this around the fire a few times as a child. —Emmrich

"Many ages ago, there was a spirit that longed to see the world where people dwelled. Others of its kind warned that it would find no welcome, but the determined spirit set out to see what it could see.

It first visited a kingdom in the south, where it found people grieving by a pyre. They cried out: 'We know you! Thief of life, of bodies, of peace!' They hid themselves, and receiving no welcome, the spirit left.

Next it visited a kingdom in the north, where it found people grieving by a flaming bier. They cried out: 'We know you! Destroyer of fortune, of fame, of livestock and servants!' They cast it out with magic, and the spirit left.

Then it visited a kingdom of the middle lands and found people grieving by a grave. When they saw the spirit, they cried out: 'We know you! Bringer of knowledge, helpmeet to our dead!' And they held it a banquet, and had it stay the night.

The spirit returned to its brethren and told them of its warm welcome in the middle kingdom. So more visited, and the middle kingdom honored the spirits by inviting them into their dead. With the spirits' help, the kingdom prospered.

This is how it was told in old days, and we remember it still."

From Myrna, on Rediscovering the Gardens

Main article: Codex entry: From Myrna, on Rediscovering the Gardens

Dear Professor Volkarin:

Thank you for your missive. Your discovery of the new location of the Memorial Gardens is most fortunate; we feared the next public days of mourning would have to be held adjacent to the Charnel Pyramids, which remain disagreeably cursed. I've recommended they undergo a lustration before next equinox.

I regret to inform you that a portion of the Basalt Hypogeum has vanished. Its disappearance was more violent than the typical reshuffling of the Necropolis. We will send word if it returns.

Cordially yours,
Watcher Myrna, Keeper of the Seals

Hezenkoss Note: Necromancy's Potential

Main article: Codex entry: Hezenkoss Note: Necromancy's Potential

What the necromancers of the Grand Necropolis fail to understand, again and again, is how atrophied death magic is outside Nevarra. Ferelden's mages? Blindly following the old elemental primers! Orlais' mages? Too caught up in politics to risk looking "unseemly." Tevinter's mages? Some decent death magic, hobbled by their obsession with blood. (The Free Marches aren't even worth considering after the disaster in Kirkwall.)

We, Nevarra, have the only mages to specialize in the very art of life and death itself! Yet none of the doddering rulers of our little kingdom has the slightest interest in what we could accomplish.

Paths of Glory

Main article: Codex entry: Paths of Glory

To the creators of Paths of Glory: A Game of High Chivalry and Warfare Across Thedas:

I have played 29 sessions of your game with the rules set out in your current compendium. While they are crudely adequate, I have drafted the following improvements. Implement them immediately if you wish to become the superior product for intellectuals of discernment!

1. The advancement bonus the Orlesian chevalier receives when in formation with three or more allied units is both a gross simplification of movement and flagrant nonsense. Give this ability to the Orlesian cavalry, or those wretched Fereldan wardogs.

2. I was disappointed that you've increased the dice used for the templar's "suppression of magics arcane" and are no longer implementing "triumph or failure" charts with percentages cross-scaled to each templar's equipment and years of training. This removes all the subtle strategy of earlier editions! Do you intend to pander to lackwits? Reverse this at once.

3. The artistic portrayal of the Demon of Rage is atrocious, and the rest of the interior illustrations are indifferent at best. Dismiss your current artists and return the one who rendered The Death of Queen Madrigal of Antiva in such exquisite detail in the frontispiece of your previous volume.

4. Necromancy remains severely underpowered! I will detail how to accurately portray its true potency in the following subparagraphs.

The letter goes on for five more pages.

Emmrich's Diary: Forbidden Books

Main article: Codex entry: Emmrich's Diary: Forbidden Books

I've been asked to weigh in again on texts being considered for our list of "Tomes and Scrolls Forbidden." I didn't think it was that time of year already. Well, let us see what lies in the list!

The Setting of the Light by Lumiere Bartlet, one new page reportedly discovered.

Goodness knows how many artists have "rediscovered" lost pages of Bartlet's play. Still, if it has any connection with the Last King, best we move carefully. I'll recommend we lock away the page until we can determine its provenance.

The Magick of Crimson Serpents, Anonymous.

A poisonously simple guide to blood magic, Tevinter's favorite "forbidden" practice. (Poor Neve; what she must combat weekly!) Let the book remain open to senior Watchers, but only for purposes of teaching detection and defense against blood magic.

NETHES******, Anonymous, inscribed on stone tablets. (I've omitted the full title, of course.)

I'd give much to track down the malign spirit whispering these "dictations." This would be the fifth copy we've found. Banned, lest it spread, and I'm afraid we must consider whether destroying the tablets might lure out their true author.

The Randy Dowager: Collected Book Reviews, 9:38-9:42, gold-embossed edition "for the true collector."

Now this is ridiculous. The Mourn Watch works with the dead; we have no business forbidding the harmless vices of the living. (And I question whoever brought it up for consideration in the first place.)

Misconceptions about the Necropolis

Main article: Codex entry: Misconceptions about the Necropolis

No one has more respect for Brother Genitivi's scholarship than I, but his writing on Nevarra details very little of the practices of the Grand Necropolis. The more I travel, the more I'm convinced these elisions have led to unfortunate conclusions by people of less than generous imagination.

For example: we do not "lock up" our dead to pound fruitlessly against their coffins in the dark. Our departed lie in peaceful state, or even wander! The undead tableaux are loving constructions, not "dress-up with corpses." And in the event a malign spirit causes a disturbance, we don't simply "throw them in a tomb and toss the key"!

Sometimes I think Warden Davrin crafts these questions to tease me.

—From Emmrich's diary

On Death

Main article: Codex entry: On Death

I never thought I could teach Emmrich anything about magic, but the other day he got really excited when I told him about Avvar spirits I saw in the Frostback Basin. (You remember me writing about that.) He did know that Avvars believe in reincarnation. The Mourn Watch likes learning about different death customs. It made me ask him what the Watchers think happens after you die. He got all pensive, and kind of sad, and said not even they know for sure.

That must be so frustrating. For that to be your whole life and not even know. I'm going to try to cheer him up with a hike. Hikes always make me feel a little better.

—From a letter by Harding to her ma

Terms of a Bargain

Main article: Codex entry: Terms of a Bargain

Notes from Emmrich, attached to a letter:

You may find this interesting, Neve: correspondence between Johanna and the Venatori, from Blackthorne Manor.

"To the necromancer Hezenkoss:

As agreed: ten thousand ingots of tempered silverite for a portion of the raw magic you've siphoned from the Fade. When last we spoke, you indicated you need certain materials 'vital for a necromantic work beyond the imagination of you zealots.'

Our dignity would not normally suffer insults such as these yet again from you. But if you would be willing at last to share more necromantic tricks particular to the Watchers, we can supply more rarities for your 'grand project.'"

Ten thousand ingots! There wasn't a scrap of silverite in the manor. What's Johanna done with it all?

Peerless Control

Main article: Codex entry: Peerless Control

Those judgmental fossils in the Mourn Watch claimed what I'm about to attempt was "mere theory" or "folly" or whatever easy dismissal rose to their cobwebbed minds. They've ignored the genius conceit of folding the bond of a construct this size within the motive force of a commanding mage: namely myself.

What glorious union! A simple thought, and its arms will sweep away my enemies like scattered sand! A gesture, and luminous beams from its eyes will blast through rock and steel! (Note to self: adjust the lantern casing? The eyes aren't working consistently yet.)

The blithering sods should have given me that doctorate when they had the chance.

—A charred note from Blackthorne Manor

On Beetles

Main article: Codex entry: On Beetles

Saw some insect symbols down in the Necropolis. Asked the necromancer. He says they "honor the work of the humblest creatures in our funerary rites."

Turns out a long time ago some Nevarran found a kind of beetle that eats your flesh when you're dead. Only leaves the skeleton. That's still messed up. But without skin is better than with skin.

Emmrich also said the Watchers "have bred some fascinating variations over the years." Those beetles better stay in the Necropolis. We've got enough weird crap in Rivain.

—From a note in Taash's handwriting.

Aurum Profundis

Main article: Codex entry: Aurum Profundis

I've been reading old Vestalus Pentaghast's "Duties of the Prelate of the Grand Necropolis." Its reputation for dry moralizing is far overblown, in my opinion. Vestalus is simply invested with a profound sensitivity towards the history of our work. His encapsulation of the properties of gold, for example:

"Gold is the eternal metal, and the sun beneath our vaults. It was first worked by our ancestors in tribute to the dead, and only Nevarra appreciates its sacred inner nature. Silver will tarnish, copper corrode, and iron rust. Gold endures as our dead endure, and will ever adorn the inhabitants of the Necropolis."

—From Emmrich's diary

An Overview of Spirits Malign

Main article: Codex entry: An Overview of Spirits Malign

Malign spirits are inevitable. We understand what manifests them directly in our world: jealousy, arrogance, greed, rage, and fear, bolstered very often by bloodshed.

Corruption of the undead is more insidious.

It takes a significant disruption in the Fade, a more powerful spirit, or other mystical conditions to transform a normally serene denizen of the Necropolis into one of the malicious dead. (Luckily, after banishing such spirits, we may recover the corpse and once again infuse it with a benign possessor.)

In circumstances where mortal suasion is behind a peaceful spirit's downfall, the penalty is clear: the lives and bodies of those who tamper with the undead of the Necropolis are forfeit unto the Mourn Watch.

—Notes by Watcher Myrna

Templars in Nevarra

Main article: Codex entry: Templars in Nevarra

Tevinter commentary about templars in other nations. There's a note from Emmrich at the bottom.

"Nevarra is not unlike the Imperium when it comes to templars. Nevarran templars still put down anyone foolish enough to be possessed by a demon. This is sensible. It is the best use of an attack dog if you are obliged to set one at the gates. Their political power, however, is thin. They're not beholden to the necromancers, but the necromancers don't always yield. It is how they banned the templars from their crypts."

How cynical! These unvarnished opinions of our kingdom! Nevarra's templars are hardly banned from the Grand Necropolis. There's simply a tacit agreement that any trouble arising there is best left to necromancers with a certain amount of experience.

A Watcher's Duty

Main article: Codex entry: A Watcher's Duty

It's little known outside Nevarra that while the term "Mortalitasi" has come to refer to every necromancer from our kingdom, we join different circles and orders within it. The Mourn Watch alone has the privilege of overseeing the Grand Necropolis. We would fight from beyond death itself to fulfill our obligations to the funeral dead.

Which is why it was so appalling when Neve asked, "so what really goes on here all day?"

The internment and preservation of an entire kingdom's dead is a monumental undertaking! Surely she doesn't believe we idle away the hours? Perhaps Neve imagines something more sinister. I've noticed our investigator from Tevinter stares longest into the shadows.

—From Emmrich's diary.

A Tale of the Blackthornes

Main article: Codex entry: A Tale of the Blackthornes

A history of Blackthorne Manor. Followed by a note from Emmrich:

"There is a misconception that the Blackthornes originated outside Nevarra, as their surname consists of two syllables instead of the usual Nevarran three. The family takes their name from the estate, which was a gift bestowed by Queen Vanneska the Fourth. Twenty generations have walked its rolling meadows, fished its ponds, and nursed the gardens that delight the gentry fortunate enough to be invited to the autumn ball."

Clearly written during better days. No one knows what truly befell the Blackthornes. There are rumors of salacious affairs, suspicious deaths, and untended crypts. I suspect the Veil has always been thin around the manor. Perhaps it's best no scion has appeared to claim its halls.

Gilded Invitation

Main article: Codex entry: Gilded Invitation

Dearest Guest,

Famed necromancer JOHANNA HEZENKOSS invites you to a gathering of like-minded colleagues in Blackthorne Manor, to witness a demonstration of her newest breakthrough in the necromantic arts. While your host must keep details a secret, she assures you this evening is not to be missed!

Dinner will be served after a short lecture.

The Obverse of Reality

Main article: Codex entry: The Obverse of Reality

"In the Fade, form does not spring from function. It is separate in ways the waking world cannot permit. Nightmare's corridors have no real-life counterparts.

What determines which sections of the physical world are echoed in the Fade? Is there an underlying logic, or glacial patterns past comprehension? Do our collective fears and longings craft what we see? The will of a mage is especially potent. We may learn to shape the Fade's pathways, if we are ever-mindful of the dangers this invites."

Excerpted lecture from Professor Emmrich Volkarin. Advanced Studies of the Fade.

The Discovery of the Hypogeum

Main article: Codex entry: The Discovery of the Hypogeum

Dear Professor Volkarin,

The Watchers are indebted to your new friends for their assistance in stopping the exile Johanna Hezenkoss, and recovering the Basalt Hypogeum. It took great magic for Hezenkoss to transport such a large portion of the Necropolis. We will attempt to reverse the process.

The other Watchers and I have discovered a curious remainder of your battle in the rubble of the mansion's great hall. I'd fain entrust it to your safekeeping.

Cordially yours,

Watcher Myrna, Keeper of the Seals

The Great Passage

Main article: Codex entry: The Great Passage

How strange, to wake up and realize I've no lessons to plan. My last batch of pupils were well set—or so I pray—when classes ended. (Edwina and Lorimer sent letters. How flattering to be remembered by one's former students!) Ensconced in the Lighthouse, I can't help but think of the first question so many of them ask: if it's true that for every person who dies, a spirit must enter the mortal world in return.

(It often surprises them to learn this idea is purely Nevarran.)

Summoning a benign spirit to answer this question is one of my favorite practical demonstrations. (And such a treat for the novices!) The line of inquiry, students swiftly learn, is impossible. The majority of spirits have difficulty grasping the very concept of quantities, let alone numbers. No one, mortal of otherwise, appears to know how to tally both the people in the world and spirits in the Fade.

Yet I cannot dismiss the idea that there might be some unknowable exchange of Fade-born spirit and human soul. This folklore is entwined with the very founding of Nevarra. And if I have learned anything here, it is that the Fade is stranger than even we of the Necropolis have imagined.

Tragedy Writ in Stone

Main article: Codex entry: Tragedy Writ in Stone

I can't believe we've found the remains of famed architect Sir Ghaudury! His ancestors were the original builders of Blackthorne Manor. Ghaudury was said to be close to finishing his life's work, repairing the estate to its original grandeur, when the Blackthornes sent word of his "crushingly tragic accident."

One wonders... the youngest of the Blackthornes was said to be a jealous man. Or perhaps Ghaudury uncovered something unseemly in the vaults? Once we've ferried his remains back to the Necropolis, I must have a chat with the man.

—From Emmrich's diary

Taash Talks: Necropolis Demon (Not a Dragon!)

Main article: Codex entry: Taash Talks: Necropolis Demon (Not a Dragon!)

Appearance: This is not a dragon. It is a demon possessing a dragon's corpse. That is completely different.

Diet: This is not! A dragon! Stop asking me what it eats! Probably feelings or something!

Behavior: IT DOES WHATEVER DEMONS DO. BECAUSE IT IS A DEMON. AND NOT A DRAGON. IT IS A DEMON WIGGLING AROUND A DEAD DRAGON'S CORPSE LIKE A PUPPET. NONE OF THIS IS OKAY.

Complications in the Veil

Main article: Codex entry: Complications in the Veil

The Veil. Our immutable, eternal barrier against the Fade.

Or so we thought. There has recently been a great weakening in the Veil, thanks to a confluence of magic in the South we've yet to understand. What scant information we have paints a chilling picture. The Veil may be undone, permanently, either in large parts or as a whole.

We cannot give way to panic. Should this threat be real, someone must be prepared to answer. If the Veil falls, thousands of lives, all we hold dear, will be swept away. I cannot say what would take their place.

—Notes from a lecture by Emmrich Volkarin in 9:42 Dragon to a council of Chantry scholars, nobility, and Nevarran mages