Kal-Sharok is a great thaig and one of the only two remaining dwarven kingdoms in Thedas. The city lies deep beneath the Hunterhorn Mountains, between Orlais and the Anderfels.
History[]
Thousands of years ago, Kal-Sharok was the capital of the dwarven empire. It is considered a "great thaig" along with Orzammar and Kal'Hirol. The empire had enjoyed good trade with the Tevinter Imperium due to Kal-Sharok's proximity to the Tevinter capital of Minrathous. The seat of power was eventually moved to the current dwarven capital, Orzammar, in -1170 Ancient (25 TE) by Endrin Stonehammer[1] during the turmoil in the Imperium following the death of the Archon Darinius[2] but also in order to focus on trade with the surface.[3] Soon afterwards large construction projects started in Orzammar, while the taxes drained by Orzammar from Kal-Sharok's trade profits began to grow burdensome.[4]
In the aftermath of the First Blight, the darkspawn kept pushing underground, bringing the empire to its knees.
Paragon Terez Saelac stood against the darkspawn during the Desolation of Kal-Sharok. She gave her life so her people could find safety behind the thaig walls.
—From Codex entry: Paragon Terez: The GuardianParagon Metez Saelac fought alongside his twin, Terez, during the Desolation of Kal-Sharok. Terez perished, while Metez lived. There is, however, more than one way to die.
—From Codex entry: Paragon Metez: The ChampionIn -40 Ancient (1155 TE), in an effort to save Orzammar, High King Threestone sealed the Deep Roads leading to the outlying thaigs and declared the kingdoms of Kal-Sharok, Hormak and Gundaar lost to the horde.
"To save Orzammar, High King Threestone sealed off the Deep Roads, abandoned Kal-Sharok, and left us to the darkspawn. In declaring us lost, he forced us to find ourselves."
—From Codex entry: The Desolation of Kal-SharokParagon Metez Saelac, born a warrior, was the first to change. After the desolation, he traded his sword for a smith's hammer, to become what Kal-Sharok needed most.
—From Codex entry: Paragon Metez: The RebornHowever, in 9:12 Dragon[5], 952 years after Threestone's declaration, Kal-Sharok was discovered to have survived the First Blight. The few dwarves living there are said to be extremely reclusive and unwilling to re-establish contact with the rest of the world, as well as being deeply resentful[2] towards Orzammar for abandoning them. However, an active communication between the two remaining dwarven cities does exist, as King Endrin Aeducan is seen discussing trade contracts involving Kal-Sharok with the heads of House Meino and Bemot on the eve of the Fifth Blight. However, this communication is hindered as Orzammar demands Kal-Sharok to submit to their authority as it did in ancient times, to which the latter has outright refused.
With far fewer resources than Orzammar and no known access to the surface, Kal-Sharok has had to do some very questionable things to survive. It is believed that when the darkspawn invaded, the kings of the old empire retreated to Kal-Sharok, where they were able to defeat the darkspawn but suffered heavy casualties. It has also been implied that Kal-Sharok's isolation and perhaps their interaction with the darkspawn during this time may have changed them in some unknown way.[2] Descriptions of Kal-Sharok dwarves depict them as physically different from their fellow Orzammar dwarves. They are described as being pale, and possibly "tainted" in a way that is hard to define.[2][6]
It has been suggested that the isolation of Kal-Sharok after its separation from Orzammar may also not have been due to fear or disinterest but for some reason as yet unknown. Kal-Sharok dwarves apparently continued to trade with the surface during their isolation and this puts in doubt the official date of Kal-Sharok's "rediscovery" by Orzammar in the Dragon Age.[2]
Involvement[]
Dragon Age RPG[]
Kal-Sharok dispatches a delegation led by Lord Lyulf Azaharg to compete in the Grand Tourney of the Free Marches in the early Dragon Age, hoping to win the prize offered by its patron, the Anvilbreaker, the legendary forge hammer of Paragon Zardol, the Weaponsfather.[6]
Dragon Age: Origins[]
Dragon Age II[]
Dragon Age: Inquisition[]
In 9:41 Dragon the dwarves of Kal-Sharok involve themselves with the Inquisition. They first come into contact with the Inquisition via the Dwarven Slaves in Venatori Hands war table mission, during which the Inquisitor decides to free dwarves being held captive by the Venatori. However, upon reaching the slave camp, the Inquisition agents realize that the dwarves were already freed, for Kal-Sharok sent their own agents to rescue their people.
The dwarves then contact the Inquisition directly, saying that they will help the fight against Corypheus if he is the one who brought on the taint and thus the darkspawn. They will send An Offer of Help, on Their Terms, with the location of a Venatori camp close to Kal-Sharok in the Deep Roads.
The Dwarven Merchants' Guild sent emissaries to Kal-Sharok, but they have heard no news from the delegation since, which makes the Guild doubtful that they will find them alive.[7]
Dragon Age: The Veilguard[]
Mementos found in Kal-Sharok reveal that Kal-Sharok has been spying on the surface kingdoms and Orzammar for centuries. Kal-Sharok dwarves have done away with the Caste system and can freely travel to the surface without fear of exile. Kal-Sharok dwarves who are sent outside their thaigs to monitor outsiders—sometimes for years—are known as observers.[8] They've somehow found a way to thrive despite their isolation.
"We kept Kal-Sharok secret. Centuries passed as we watched the world both above and beneath the earth. Those who met us never knew who they met."
—From Codex entry: Unseen"The blight is always present. We endure it, as we endure so many other dangers. We have our ways, and Kal-Sharok thrives."
—From Codex entry: Kal-Sharok AbidesBy 9:52 Dragon, the Kal-Sharok dwarves have expanded and constructed atleast one new outpost outside their primary thaig. They appear to be reclaiming lost territory, and also restoring and studying the formerly lost statues of prominent dwarven figures.[9] The Kal-Sharok dwarves have welcomed the Grey Wardens to their recently re-established outpost, strengthening their alliances to the surface lands and improving collaboration. Kal-Sharok has done away with the lyrium trade as they claim Kal-Sharok does not require trade to survive in their modern state.[10]
According to Stalgard, some dwarves in Kal-Sharok had to "become like the darkspawn" in order to survive. It is vague what similarities these dwarves shares with the darkspawn, but Stalgard states that dwarves like him can "feel" the Blight.
By 9:52 Dragon, Kal-Sharok has come under the protection of a Titan-touched dwarf they call The Oracle, but she was once known as Valta.
If Lace Harding survives the Battle of Minrathous and she calmed her Titan rage with compassion, she spends her time after the battle helping the dwarves of Kal-Sharok rediscover their lost magic and their connection to the Stone.
Places[]
- Kal-Sharok Outpost
- Reclamation Site: Halde Vaskar
- Mining Tunnel
- Lyrium Sanctum
Quests[]
Dwarven Slaves in Venatori Hands (war table)- An Offer of Help, on Their Terms (war table)
Culture[]
Trading With Kal-Sharok
My approach was carefully observed. This was not a thaig unused to watching its boundaries. I got the impression that if I'd been one of his Orzammar cousins, our meeting would've been swift and bloody. That is, if I'd been allowed to find the passage at all. As it was, he was polite and efficient, and he knew well the current market for everything he offered. Clearly their isolation is not because of fear, and certainly not disinterest. Among his wares, I saw the latest fabrics of Val Royeaux and volumes by a Free Marcher poet three centuries dead. This only added to my doubt of the official year of Kal-Sharok's "rediscovery" as declared by the Assembly of Orzammar. I didn't mention this to my host. As curious as I was, there was an undercurrent I found unsettling. I must stress that he and his helpers were professional and honest throughout. But there was something I can't describe. While he remained hooded the entire time, he looked me square in the eye when our deal was struck, unashamed.
I lived through a time of Blight. I've felt the gaze of a Grey Warden and seen the corruption of his prey. Why I remembered both in that moment, I still can't explain.
The centuries of isolation endured by Kal-Sharok after its separation from Orzammar has caused the thaig to develop in a far different way from Orzammar. Where the influence of surface races and culture have affected Orzammar's culture and development to a certain extent, the same is not the case with Kal-Sharok. Both thaigs share the same base language but Kal-Sharok dwarves speak with a regional dialect that reflects language far less impacted by interaction with outsiders.[12] Outsiders are only slowly being allowed into the secretive thaig.
Kal-Sharok does not recognize the Paragons of Orzammar, and Orzammar likewise does not recognize Kal-Sharok's Paragons. In Kal-Sharok, Paragons are not rendered as giant statues as in Orzammar, but as massive posthumous wall carvings that span lengths of the Deep Roads. Additionally, Kal-Sharok Paragons are nominated based on their promised deeds and not on past deeds.[13]
While Kal-Sharok diverges from Orzammar in many ways, the thaigs share the concept of the Legion of the Dead. Kal-Sharok's unit is known as the Rock-Knockers, a less stoic version of the Legion of the Dead, and less committed to inevitable death, honorable or not.[14]
"Life is change, and death, stagnation. To survive, we discarded what was for what was needed. Lineage, status, history, honor—the blight consumed it all, and made Kal-Sharok casteless."
—From Codex entry: CastelessThe dwarves of Kal-Sharok did away with the caste system long ago. In contemporary times, every dwarf in Kal-Sharok does double duty or more. Stalgard is not only a warrior, but a stonemason and also a midwife-in-training. Everyone is expected to keep the thaig safe which means every dwarf is scheduled for cyclical, mandatory military service.[15]
An ancient manuscript depicts the pillars of Kal-Sharok's new culture.
An ancient manuscript:
We are kin, bound by blood—blood shared and blood spilled in the dark.
—From Codex entry: Pillars of Kal-Sharok: Blood
An ancient manuscript:
We are the living memory of our ancestors, who dwell within us. We remember, and are not alone.
—From Codex entry: Pillars of Kal-Sharok: Memory
An ancient manuscript:
We are a shout from the deep places. Dissonance and harmony—a chorus, sung by the many, in one voice.
—From Codex entry: Pillars of Kal-Sharok: Voice
An ancient manuscript:
We are the foundations of the great thaig. Kal-Sharok stands until the last of us falls.
—From Codex entry: Pillars of Kal-Sharok: Stone
Grand Provings were held at Kal-Sharok before Orzammar was established as the empire's capital. There is a large arena within Kal-Sharok.[4]
The dwarves of Kal-Sharok revere Titan-touched dwarves for being one with the Stone, or the Ancients. One such dwarf that is revered in Kal-Sharok is Valta, who the dwarves of Kal-Sharok calls "The Oracle". The Oracle resides in a Lyrium Sanctum and speaks to the dwarves through a stone statue. Valta's dwarf magic is strong enough to keep the Blight and darkspawn away from the Lyrium Sanctum.[16]
Some Kal-Sharok dwarves are interested in learning about their past and the Titans. If Lace Harding copes with her Titan connection with compassion, she will briefly share her connection to her Titan with Stalgard and his sister Durra to demonstrate the ancient Titan concept of "Isatunoll."[17]
Politics[]
Relations between Orzammar and Kal-Sharok are presently strained. Orzammar has made demands for Kal-Sharok to submit to their authority, as Orzammar is still the capital of the dwarven empire as it was in ancient times. Kal-Sharok, still embittered for being abandoned by Orzammar during the First Blight, refuses to do so and continues to remain autonomous.
The King of Orzammar is not recognized in Kal-Sharok in any official capacity. In Kal-Sharok, the highest elected government office is known as the Paragon-Elect.[13] In matters of day-to-day life, Kal-Sharok also places far less importance on castes than Orzammar, having indeed abandoned the traditional caste system in their separation from Orzammar: individual Kal-Sharok dwarves instead have numerous trades, with Kal-Sharok dwarf Stalgard, for example, being a stonemason as well as a midwife-in-training and a warrior - all Kal-Sharok dwarves bearing arms like warriors when needed.[15] Members of the Kal-Sharok Assembly can be drawn from any family, not solely from influential noble families as in Orzammar.[18]
Kal-Sharok does not have a king and its Assembly meets in the Sharokovar thaig.[6]
Language[]
The dwarves of Kal-Sharok speak an unusual form of the dwarven tongue. Few examples of this dialect exist. An example of Kal-Sharok's language appears in a letter, demonstrating words in common between the languages of Kal-Sharok and Orzammar:
"Kalnath-par Kallak, Kalnath-gat Parthas."
Translation: "Family through war, family into peace."
Known Kal-Sharok dwarves[]
- Binthus Warhelm – a contact for the Inquisition[19][20]
- Lyulf Azaharg
- Novas Sturhald[11] – a Kal-Sharok merchant[2]
- Sturhald-Sharok – a Paragon-Elect of Kal-Sharok[21]
- Kardek Ironsinger – Kal-Sharok's Paragon of Smithing.[22]
- House Leskar – a dwarven noble house in Kal-Sharok that was eventually dissolved; many of Kal-Sharok's inhabitants can claim a connection to the bloodline[23]
- Stalgard
Codex entries[]
- Codex entry: Cut to Kal Sharok
- Codex entry: King Endrin Aeducan
- Codex entry: Letters from the Past
- Codex entry: Orzammar History: Chapter One
- Codex entry: Trading with Kal-Sharok
Note texts[]
References[]
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