Codex text
A page ripped from a journal
"... We learned of an old laboratory called Amgarrak, where a man of Orzammar and a mage of Tevinter were attempting to recreate Caridin's work. Amgarrak was mentioned in Branka's notes, although why she did not pursue it is a mystery."
"They used not stone or metal, but flesh. Flesh of the dying, the diseased, the casteless. We found evidence of this—a putrefying construct of meat and bone. It looked awkward and headless, and the stench was unbearable."
"The switches divert the lyrium streams, causing unpredictable effects. Sometimes it even alters the environment, changing it to look—even feel—different. It must be magic, but our understanding of such things is limited."
"There is something in here with us."
"They called it the Harvester. They knew it was a terrible mistake and used magic to trap it within these tunnels. Our foolish greed led us here, and now we are trapped along with it. Our only hope of escape is to destroy everything: the creature, the research, the magic that sustains this place. They are all tied together. I must get to the forge, but it is locked. Only a specific combination of switches will work. I must think more on this."
"It found a body—rotting flesh harvested from the dead. It ripped them all apart and used them.
Pelted with heads of friends, tripped in their entrails... Ran. Still alive. Only one alive."
"I can still hear it out there. It knows I'm here. I cannot get back to the forge.
I found a golem control rod. The golems are keeping it away for now. There's a shaft of light here. I can see my escape but I cannot reach it. The ground is too damp, the rocks too slick.
I could go out there and make it quick, or... stay here. Death is certain, either way."
Further information
- All the entries are narrated when they are picked up; although the spoken version will differ slightly from the version transcribed in the codex.
- Judging by the location of the last entry, the scholar Darion Olmech opted to die slowly rather than face the Harvester.
