- See also: Chant of Light, Chant of Light Verses
Codex text
Those who oppose Thee
Shall know the wrath of heaven.
Field and forest shall burn,
The seas shall rise and devour them,
The wind shall tear their nations
From the fact of the earth.
Lightning shall rain down from the sky,
They shall cry out to their false gods,
And find silence.
—Canticle of Andraste 7:19
Who was Andraste? This question has lingered in the ages since her death, not as easily answered as the faithful assume. Born an Alamarri slave in the frontier realm of the Tevinter Imperium, now Ferelden, the Chant says she is the Bride of the Maker—that He told her in a vision of her role leading the rebellion against the corrupt magisters. Is it true, or, as some early Andrastian cults believed, did a friendly spirit bestow this "vision"? We must remember that legends of Andraste were multitude in the years immediately following her execution, and beliefs we take for granted belong to the "cult" victorious in suppressing all others. Indeed, even to suggest there was once disagreement was considered the direst heresy... until today, when we have lost even the memory of disagreement. All we know for certain is that Andraste inspired a world gripped by tyranny and chaos, that she helped spark a war which tore all of Thedas asunder.
—From Questioning the Chant by Magister Vibius Agorian