The Grand Necropolis is a large mausoleum in Nevarra City, and the chief domain of the Mortalitasi.
Background[]
Unlike other Andrastian nations, who cremate their dead to avoid unwanted possessions, the Nevarrans prefer mummification. The preserved corpses are then placed in elaborate tombs to serve as safe hosts to Fade spirits. The Grand Necropolis is a mausoleum for such dead, so large as to be almost a city in itself.[1]
Nevarrans are taught that the Grand Necropolis is a fitting resting place for the bodies of all good souls destined to sit by the side of the Maker.[2] It is considered an honor to be interred in the Necropolis.[3] Many noble and royal families have mansions inside the Necropolis, such as the Pentaghasts and the Van Markhams. The body of King Caspar the Magnificent is kept inside the Pentaghast family crypts, in a massive throne room. Children of the royal family, like Cassandra Pentaghast, are sometimes brought to meet King Caspar.[4]
While there are public open-air gardens, access to the lower crypts is heavily restricted, even to the dead. The geography of the lower reaches is variable, meaning that the lower halls and chambers may not always be in the same place at the same time. This has a disorienting effect on visitors, and has successfully prevented any attempts at robbery.[2] There are ritual chambers in the deeper parts of the Necropolis. The spirits bound to the corpses of the Mortalitasi's greatest mages empower their rituals.[5]
The Mourn Watchers, an order within the Mortalitasi, are the keepers of the Grand Necropolis. The Necropolis is also guarded by the undead. There are also bone creatures in the lower reaches, uncatalogued even by the Mortalitasi. Wards inside the crypts deter most minor, errant spirits, which makes premature spirit possession near the Necropolis nearly impossible.[2] Templars assigned to Nevarra generally leave the resolution of magical issues within the Grand Necropolis to the Mourn Watch, leading to the misconception that, like in Tevinter, they have no real power.[6]
Involvement[]
Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights[]
Down Among the Dead Men
Dragon Age: The Veilguard[]
Initially, the Venatori sent envoys to the Grand Necropolis, hoping to gather magical powers to be of service to Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain. When they were turned away, the Venatori infiltrated the Grand Necropolis by utilizing a Hand of Glory and sacrificing several slaves to bypass the Necropolis' traps. They also chained the bell known as the Sunken Star and set loose despair demons in the Necropolis to distract the Mourn Watch. Fortunately, Rook and Bellara Lutare came to the Grand Necropolis to recruit Emmrich Volkarin to their team and aided him in securing the Necropolis. After unchaining the Sunken Star, any malicious spirit who hears the tolling of its bell will be banished to the Fade, thus driving away the despair demons. The Veilguard fended off the Venatori and despair demons while Emmrich conducted the ritual to activate the Sunken Star.[7]
During the quest The Sacrifice of Souls, it is revealed that Johanna Hezenkoss has stolen a portion of the Grand Necropolis, the Basalt Hypogeum, which was made a part of her workshop in Blackthorne Manor to hide her secret bone golem creation. The Mourn Watch returns the Basalt Hypogeum to the Necropolis after her defeat at the hands of the Veilguard.[8]
Places[]
- Basalt Hypogeum[9]
- Charnel Pyramids[9] – An area that is cursed
- Cobalt Ossuary[10]
- Crescent Fane[10]
- Lost Watcher's Wing
- Cascades
- Chamber of the Unforged
- Hollow Belfry
- The Path of Sighs
- The Spectral Court
- Vault of the Beloved
- Memorial Gardens
- Unspoken Valley[11]
- Charnel Bridge - An area currently inundated with nightmare fog[11]
- Weeping Vale[12]
Codex entries[]
Codex entry: Failed Lichdom- Codex entry: Emmrich: Note to Harding on Souls
- Codex entry: The Visitation: A Folk Tale
- Codex entry: From Myrna, on Rediscovering the Gardens
- Codex entry: Paths of Glory
- Codex entry: Misconceptions about the Necropolis
- Codex entry: On Death
- Codex entry: On Beetles
- Codex entry: Aurum Profundis
- Codex entry: An Overview of Spirits Malign
- Codex entry: Templars in Nevarra
- Codex entry: A Watcher's Duty
- Codex entry: Taash Talks: Necropolis Demon (Not a Dragon!)
Mementos[]
- Codex entry: The Shadow's Chance
- Codex entry: Ancient Illustration
- Codex entry: Memento Mori
- Codex entry: Strange Painting
- Codex entry: Impossible Map
- Codex entry: Public Warning
- Codex entry: Vibrant Quill
- Codex entry: Dense Tome
- Codex entry: Voluminous Notes
- Codex entry: Miniature Tree
- Codex entry: Gilded Cage
- Codex entry: Organ Jar
- Codex entry: Lifeless Candlehop
- Codex entry: Silver Spoon
- Codex entry: Chasind Effigy
- Codex entry: Dragon's Blood (Veilguard)
Notes[]
- While Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 1 places the Grand Necropolis just outside Nevarra City, as does Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 2 on page 130, an image caption on page 131 states that it lies at the heart of the city.
Trivia[]
- The Necropolis can shuffle its rooms around.[13]
References[]
- ↑
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 56
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, Down Among the Dead Men
- ↑ Codex entry: Exhuming Bodies by Moonlight
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 42
- ↑ Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, The Dread Wolf Take You
- ↑ Codex entry: Templars in Nevarra
- ↑ Where the Dead Must Go
- ↑ Codex entry: The Discovery of the Hypogeum
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Codex entry: From Myrna, on Rediscovering the Gardens
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Short Story: The Eternal Flame
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Party banter with Emmrich Volkarin
- ↑ During a conversation between a Mourn Watch Rook and Emmrich Volkarin
- ↑ According to Emmrich Volkarin's dialogue during Walking the Graves in Dragon Age: The Veilguard
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