We rode the halla. They leapt with such grace and beauty as to make your horses look like Fereldan dogs by comparison. They were smarter, too. Which often made them willful.
Hallas are a type of horned stag; some are herded by the Dalish—who use them to pull their aravels, or landships. Their milk is also made into cheese and butter.[2][3][4] The Dalish do not consider them beasts of burden but noble companions. To get them to accompany a clan, the Dalish elves ask rather than force them to. Alistair remarks that he's heard that the horns of a halla sell for a fortune. It is said that the Dalish carve their antlers for decorative purposes, and that their antlers are particularly prized in the Tevinter Imperium.
Background[]
No creature is more revered by the Dalish than the halla. No other animal has a god of its own. These white stags are much larger than ordinary deer, and the Dalish halla keepers carve their antlers as they grow, making them curve into intricate designs. In ancient times, these stags bore elven knights into combat, but since the fall of the Dales, they are used less as mounts and more to pull the aravels.[5]
The first thing you must understand about the halla is that they are not our servants. They are not our pets. They are our brothers and sisters. Remember that Ghilan'nain, the first halla and mother of them all, was once a huntress of the People. Without the halla, there would be no Dalish.
The second thing you must understand about the halla is that you cannot force a halla to do something against her will. I have heard tales of shemlen who come across herds and attempt to capture the halla, using ropes and bridles. Many shemlen have died impaled on horns as a result of this foolishness. Never forget that the halla once bore our knights into battle. The fierce blood of a warrior still runs through her veins and she would sooner fight to the death than demean herself. Like the Dalish, the halla are proud. A halla knows who she is, and will tolerate no being that tells her she is less.
How then do we harness them to the aravels? How do we ride them, or strap our packs to them? Well, how do you get a brother, a sister, or a friend to do you a favor? Simple, isn't it? You ask. If you have a halla's trust, she will give you her blessing. It's striking that humans never think to ask for a halla's friendship. But then, they are shems, and respect nothing.
—Adara, halla-tender of the Ralaferin clan, to her apprentice[6]
Involvement[]
Dragon Age: Origins[]
Dragon Age: Inquisition[]
The halla can be found roaming around the Exalted Plains.
Notable halla[]
- Hanal'ghilan (a unique golden halla encountered on the Exalted Plains)
Quests[]
Dragon Age: Origins[]
Dalish Elf Origin- Elora's Halla
- Nature of the Beast (a lone halla in the East Brecilian Forest; near the North Exit)
Dragon Age: Inquisition[]
Locations[]
Dragon Age: Origins[]
Dragon Age: Inquisition[]
Notable loot[]
- Halla Horns
- Halla Leather
- Fade-Touched Halla Leather (Stealth)
- Golden Halla Hide (Stealth) (only from golden hallas)
Variations[]
- Golden Halla
Codex entries[]
- Codex entry: Halla
- Codex entry: Halla
- Codex entry: The Ascension of Ghilan'nain
- Codex entry: August Ram
Trivia[]
- Elven legend holds that a halla will lead an elf into the afterlife.[7]
- It is said that halla will only listen to their Dalish tenders.[8]
- It is said that the halla was elven god Ghilan'nain's favorite creature, and the only one she did not kill when Andruil made her to destroy her own creations.[9]
- Some scholars theorize that the original image of constellation Equinor was a halla instead of a horse, which would indicate it was connected to the elven goddess Ghilan'nain. However, this speculation is largely dismissed.[10]
- Halla wool is soft and smooth, the gaps in the weave so small it doesn't catch on anything. It feels cool in summer and warm in winter.[11]
- Though other types of butter also work for this purpose, the Dalish traditionally use halla butter as an ingredient in certain dishes such as hearth cakes, a comfort food baked over the hearth on a skillet or iron griddle.[12][13][14]
See also[]
Gallery[]
.png "Halla (HoDA).png (930 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 202.
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 289
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 295
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas, p. 47
- ↑ Codex entry: Halla
- ↑ Codex entry: Halla (Inquisition)
- ↑ According to ambient conversation from Zevran Arainai in the Dalish Camp, in Dragon Age: Origins
- ↑ According to ambient conversation from Wynne in the Dalish Camp, in Dragon Age: Origins
- ↑ Codex entry: The Ascension of Ghilan'nain
- ↑ Codex entry: Constellation: Equinor
- ↑ Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, An Old Crow's Old Tricks
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 289
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 295
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas, p. 47
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