- See also: Andrastianism, Chant of Light, Chant of Light verses
Codex text
No matter their power, their triumphs,
The mage-lords of Tevinter were men
And doomed to die.
Then a voice whispered within their hearts,
Shall you surrender your power
To time like the beasts of the fields?
You are the Lords of the earth!
Go forth to claim the empty throne
Of Heaven and be gods.
In secret they worked
Magic upon magic
All their power and all their vanity
They turned against the Veil
Until at last, it gave way.
Above them, a river of Light,
Before them the throne of Heaven, waiting,
Beneath their feet
The footprints of the Maker,
And all around them echoed a vast
Silence.
But when they took a single step
Toward the empty throne
A great voice cried out
Shaking the very foundations
Of Heaven and earth:
And So is the Golden City blackened
With each step you take in my Hall.
Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting.
You have brought Sin to Heaven
And doom upon all the world.
Violently were they cast down,
For no mortal may walk bodily
In the realm of dreams,
Bearing the mark of their Crime:
Bodies so maimed
And distorted that none should see them
And know them for men.
Deep into the earth they fled,
Away from the Light.
In Darkness eternal they searched
For those who had goaded them on,
Until at last they found their prize,
Their god, their betrayer:
The sleeping dragon Dumat. Their taint
Twisted even the false-god, and the whisperer
Awoke at last, in pain and horror, and led
Them to wreak havoc upon all the nations of the world:
The first Blight.
—From Threnodies 8.
Notes
- Though the numbers of the verses from the Chant of Light quoted here are not given, Codex entry: From the Canticle of Threnodies identifies the second and third verse as Threnodies 8:2-3, and Codex entry: Archdemon identifies the seventh verse as Threnodies 8:7. This suggests these verses may be 8:1-8:7. On the other hand, the fifth verse presented in this codex entry (starting with "And So is the Golden City blackened") is the one marked as Threnodies 8:13 in the Dragon Age: Origins opening sequence (see image). Likewise, the beginning of chapter 2 of Dragon Age: The Calling labels this verse as Threnodies 8:13. This suggests that these verses may be 8:9-8:16 instead of 8:1-8:7. An alternative explanation is that Threnodies 8:13 is a repeat of Threnodies 8:5, which would account for the numbering differences; see Chant of Light Verses for context.
