The great dragon is the rarest, most ancient form of dragon and much larger in size than that of a high dragon. There are few great dragons still in existence in Thedas, one such beast is known as the Queen of Dragons.
Background[]
Queen of Dragons[]
Great Dragon Blood[]
The blood of great dragons is enormously powerful. The Magister Aurelian Titus in Dragon Age: Until We Sleep equates the blood of great dragons with godlike power. Titus tells Alistair the ancient Tevinter magisters were close to harnessing this power and believes that, were he able to, he could restore the Tevinter Imperium to its former glory.[1]
The Qunari also have a legend regarding the power of great dragon blood. The Arishok recites this legend to King Alistair, Isabella and Varric. The Qunari claim that King Calenhad the Great of Ferelden was no knight but rather an impoverished and ambitious dog-handler. He bought the services of a witch, who advised him to seek out one of the last great dragons and drink its blood, thereby imbibing its prodigious strength and allowing him to conquer Ferelden.
Involvement[]
Dragon Age: The Silent Grove[]
Dragons are first seen in Chapter 3 of Dragon Age: The Silent Grove when King Alistair and his party are attacked in the Tellari Swamps. The dragon halts and its mistress Yavana appears. In Chapter 4 Yavana reveals that the dragon did not attack Alistair because, as Yavana says, "She can smell the old blood in you, son of kings." Yavana presumably means the blood of King Calenhad. Yavana leads the group to the Silent Grove, a haven for dragons from the ignorance and cruelty of mankind. She says that Flemeth saved King Maric Theirin's life years ago and that, as payment, "He was permitted to restore his kingdom and play ruler until his children were grown. But after, he was to come to me here." The nature of her bargain with Maric is not disclosed until later.
In Chapter 6, Yavana leads Alistair's party back to the Silent Grove], and allows Alistair to follow her down into a chamber underneath the temple. Watched by a dragon, they enter a huge cavern bathed in a blue glow and full of crystalline eggs. Yavana explains that they are in the Hall of Sleepers: when dragons were almost extinguished the few that remained were called by the builders of the temple to sleep until awakened by power. Yavana revived a few that didn't die in their sleep and they became the first dragons to roam Thedas in many ages. But the Great ones were beyond her reach until Maric arrived: the blood of King Calenhad Theirin in Maric called to the Queen of dragons and awakened her. Yavana reveals that Aurelian Titus took Maric for the power in his blood. Yavana then asks Alistair to awaken the last of the Great ones, thus absolving Maric of his promise to Flemeth. Yavana tempts Alistair, reminding him that, should he recover Maric, he will reclaim the throne of Ferelden and Alistair will be free of the burden. Alistair rejects Yavana's offer and runs her through with his sword. Alistair challenges the watching dragon but it does not harm him due to the power in his blood. As Alistair leaves the cavern the dragon examines Yavana's body.
It is unknown if the dragon within the Hall of Sleepers is the Great dragon awakened by Maric or another High Dragon.
Dragon Age: Until We Sleep[]
Calenhad confronts the Great dragon.
In Chapter 1, Alistair's former companion during Dragon Age: Origins, Sten, now the Arishok, tells Alistair the Qunari version of the myth of King Calenhad, in which he gained the power to unite Ferelden by making a bargain with a mysterious witch to drink great dragon blood, arguably becoming a Reaver in the process. The dragon slain by Calenhad was a Great dragon.[2]
The missing King Maric is later discovered attached to the Magrallen, a Tevinter device empowered by Maric's blood via the Great dragon blood he carries, and which the Magister Aurelian Titus is using to fuel his own magic in order to restore the glory of the Tevinter Imperium.
In Chapter 3 during the final battle with Alistair, his companions, and King Maric within the Fade, Aurelian Titus conjures the head of a Great dragon to attack Maric, saying "Die by what wrought you."
Notes[]
- Based on Yavana's conversation with Alistair in Chapter 6 of The Silent Grove, there is one confirmed great dragon awake and at large in Thedas: the Queen of the dragons. The last remaining great dragon are still sleeping within the Hall of Sleepers and can only be awakened by the blood of the line of Calenhad.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Dragon Age: Until We Sleep, Chapter 3.
- ↑ As confirmed in the text "The witch sent him to a cave, where one of the Great dragons--ancient and proud, its time nearly over--lay," in Chapter 1 of Dragon Age: Until We Sleep.