Elven Alienage

See also: Alienage

Elven Alienage
Type	Alienage
Location	Denerim
Inhabitants	Elves
Exits	Abandoned Orphanage Alarith's Store Cyrion's Home Denerim City Map Run-Down Apartments Tevinter Hospice Tevinter Warehouse Valendrian's House
Appearances	Dragon Age: Origins The Darkspawn Chronicles

The Denerim Alienage is a walled off, impoverished district of the city of Denerim, where the majority of Denerim's elves reside. It is the starting location of the City Elf Origin.

Background

There have been alienages for as long as elves and shems have lived in the same lands. They say that Val Royeaux has ten thousand elves living in a space no bigger than Denerim's market. Their walls are supposedly so high that daylight doesn't reach the vhenadahl until midday. But don't be so anxious to start tearing down the walls. They keep out more than they keep in. Sometimes a family gets a good break, and they buy a house in the docks, or the outskirts of town. If they're lucky, they come back to the alienage after the looters have burned their house down. We look out for each other. Here, we do what we can to remember the old ways.
—From Codex entry: Alienage Culture

Map of the area

The alienage was last purged around 9:10 Dragon, after an elf killed a human in a fist fight by the docks. An angry mob gathered at nightfall, laying waste to the entire alienage. Soris' parents numbered among the casualties.

Involvement

Dragon Age: Origins

See City Elf Origin for information about who and what can be found at this location during the origin story.

After the origin story, the alienage is closed off after Arl Rendon Howe led a purge under the pretense of quelling an elven riot, killing many elves in the process. The purge and the ensuing riots were so violent that the alienage's orphanage became haunted by demons not long after.

To make matters worse, sometime after the Battle of Ostagar, infected Blight refugees arrived in Denerim seeking safe shelter and spread the illness to the elves resulting in the deaths of many and prompting a quarantine of the alienage itself.

When Arl Eamon Guerrin calls the Landsmeet, Queen Anora informs the Warden of rumors of unrest in the alienage, believing it a good place to gather evidence against Teyrn Loghain. The following investigations uncover that Loghain had made 'arrangements' with a group of Tevinter slavers led by a mage named Caladrius. The arrangement ensured that the slavers would operate freely in Denerim's alienage in exchange for gold. The slavers used the quarantine as a cover up, claiming to be on a humanitarian mission to heal the elves with the personal consent of Loghain, while covertly kidnapping promising elves and shipping them off to Tevinter. Among the kidnapped elves may have been the alienage's elder, Valendrian.

During the Battle of Denerim, the alienage was besieged by a huge darkspawn force led by a powerful hurlock emissary. The alienage elves may or may have not helped the Warden to defend their home during the battle.

After the Battle of Denerim, the alienage fell under the leadership of Shianni, who replaced Valendrian as the elder. The new ruler of Ferelden may have called Shianni to be part of the court, and may have even promoted the alienage to be part of the bannorn, appointing an elf as its bann, to the surprise of many nobles. However, the lot of the Denerim elves hasn't improved much after the Fifth Blight. A food shortage not long after the Blight may have ended in a riot that forced the monarch to come down hard against elven rioters. By 9:40 Dragon, many of the surviving residents have largely abandoned the alienage.

The Darkspawn Chronicles

The Archdemon commands the Hurlock vanguard to burn the alienage to the ground, giving special emphasis in the destruction of the vhenadahl. The Hurlock vanguard's forces kill all the Denerim's elves, including the Antivan crow Zevran Arainai, in the process.

Quests

The vhenadahl of Denerim's alienage

City Elf Origin

A Day for Celebration

Dragon Age: Origins

Unrest in the Alienage

Fazzil's Request (in the Run-Down Apartments)

Grease the Wheels

Hearing Voices

Places of Power

Scraping the Barrel

Something Wicked

The Darkspawn Chronicles

Main quests

Rampage to the Alienage

Raze the Alienage

Rampage to the Palace

Side quests

Burn the Vhenadahl

Slaughter the Elves

Characters

Dragon Age: Origins

• Alarith, in his store.
• Cyrion potentially returns to his home at conclusion of Unrest in the Alienage.
• Elder Valendrian potentially returns to his home at conclusion of Unrest in the Alienage.

Haggard Human

• Haggard Human, only when first visited (or in the second visit, if you play a City Elf). He is being harassed by several elf thugs. After the Warden appears, the thugs flee. There is a single multiple choice dialogue option, while the human's responses will heavily vary based on the origin of the Warden. Afterwards, the haggard human leaves.
• Elf Guard, involved in the quest Unrest in the Alienage.
• Healer Saritor, involved in the quest Unrest in the Alienage.
• Healer Veras, involved in the quest Unrest in the Alienage.
• Hooded Courier, when on the quest Grease the Wheels.
• Ser Otto, can start the quest Something Wicked.
• Shianni, involved in the quest Unrest in the Alienage, first time talking to can yield Codex entry: Valendrian.
• Soris, in Cyrion's Home if not in Arl of Denerim's Estate - Dungeon
• Starved Veteran, a city elf beggar.
• Varel Baern, when on the quest Scraping the Barrel.
• Deranged Beggar, when on the quest Something Wicked and Hearing Voices.
• Tevinter Guards, involved in the quest Unrest in the Alienage.
• Soldier, involved in the quest Unrest in the Alienage.

The Darkspawn Chronicles

• Elder Valendrian: As an enemy in the quest Burn the Vhenadahl.
• Zevran Arainai: As an enemy in the quest Slaughter the Elves.

Enemies

Dragon Age: Origins

There are no hostile characters when the Warden enters the area, though it is possible that a fight can break out during the investigation into the Unrest in the Alienage.

• Tevinter Healers (Human, Mage, Lieutenant)
• Tevinter Guards (Human, Warrior, Normal)
• Tevinter Soldiers (Human, Warrior, Normal)
• Elf Women (Elf, Warrior, Normal)

The Darkspawn Chronicles

• Zevran Arainai (Elf, Rogue, Elite Boss)
• Valendrian (Elf, Warrior, Lieutenant)
• Elven Elder (Elf, Warrior, Lieutenant)
• Elven Defender (Elf, Warrior, Normal)
• Elven Archer (Elf, Warrior, Normal)
• Frightened Elf (Elf, Warrior, Normal)

Notable items

Dragon Age: Origins

Deathroot x2

Fang, source: Cyrion (City Elf only)

Tevinter Enchanter's Robes, source: Tevinter healers

Hospice Key, source: Elf Guard, Healer Saritor, or Hospice Supervisor

Notable gifts for companions:

Andraste's Grace

The Darkspawn Chronicles

Crow Dagger, source: Zevran.

Enchanted Dagger, source: Valendrian.

Notable gifts for companions:

Antivan Leather Boots, source: Zevran.

Tribal Necklace, source: Valendrian.

Special objects

• Mystical Site of Power
• Landmark Tree
• Various official notices banning elves from carrying weapons. Bearing arms is strictly prohibited: Elves who have swords will die upon them.
• Locked door to Valendrian's Home can be picked for 40 xp.
• Sign Alienage Tree yielding Codex entry: Vhenadahl: The Tree of the People
• Pile of blood (Can be clicked when on the quest Something Wicked)
• Feral Dog (Can be clicked when on the quest Something Wicked)