Kirkwall: the City of Chains, written by Brother Ferdinand Genitivi in 9:24 Dragon, is a publication on the history and founding of the City of Kirkwall. Genitivi's work begins with Emerius becoming an extension of the Imperium, named after its founder Magister Emerius Krayvan, and follows the city's trials and tribulations through 9:21 whereby Knight-Commander Meredith appoints Lord Marlowe Dumar as Kirkwall's Viscount.
Chapter 1[]
It's difficult for many to comprehend today, but there was a time when Kirkwall was believed to be the very edge of the world.
It was Emerius then, named after its founder Magister Emerius Krayvan, and it was but one outpost on the very fringe of the Tevinter Imperium. There the magister's serfs worked the quarries for the jet stone needed for the mighty temples of Minrathous. After a slave rebellion nearly burned the temple to the ground in the great city, it was determined that a center for the slave trade would need to be established well away from the more civilized parts of the Imperium. (Though this account may be exaggerated, since the notorious Vanarius Issar narrowly escaped assassination at the hands of an elven slave at the time.)
Because the new slave outpost would become wealthy beyond imagining, competition among prospects reportedly took over twenty years to resolve, resulting in great bloodshed in the frontier, well away from the archon's eyes. Magister took arms against magister, mostly in the form of small armies of serfs and mercenaries. Over half the slaves in existence allegedly died in these battles before Emerius was finally chosen, thanks to the marriage of Krayvan's son to the archon's daughter.
Within a mere decade, the mighty fortress was erected on the cliff where Kirkwall now stands. Over one million slaves passed through its gates before the Imperium eventually fell, an unimaginable number by today's standards. The Krayvan family itself became patrons of the next three archons and was one of the driving forces behind the extension of the Imperial Highway into the Fereldan Valley, a move that would cost them considerable political influence after the resistance of the Alamarri tribes. During its height, Emerius was a jewel to rival the mightiest of the Imperial cities and the greatest center of civilization outside Tevinter.
—From Kirkwall: the City of Chains, by Brother Genitivi, 9:24 Dragon
Chapter 2[]
As the Imperium's borders slowly receded after the devastation of the First Blight and the subsequently barbarian invasion, many outposts in the area, known today as the Free Marches, were cut off from centers of power. Numerous warlords tried consolidating the region into a single kingdom, but resistance prevailed. Emerius held out for almost a century until it fell to a slave revolt in 25 Ancient. It was not the first such revolt Emerius suffered, but it was the last.
It started when an Alamarri slave named Radun began earning popularity and power by pushing for better conditions. Radun's growing influence prevented the magisters from touching him, but eventually they had him poisoned. Furious, a group of Radun's supporters stormed the Gallows and were massacred, and so began a bloody yearlong rebellion.
The city burned, and wealthy Hightown was sacked. The magisters hung before cheering crowds. Emerius assumed the new name of Kirkwall, "kirk" meaning "black," after its jet stone cliffs. The new city plunged into anarchy for over a decade, and its defenses fell into ruin. Kirkwall has been conquered many times since, the city's own independence suffering since the freeing of its slaves.
—From Kirkwall: the City of Chains, by Brother Genitivi, 9:24 Dragon
Maharian Quarry[]
The Overseer was a nickname given to Magister Claudian Vyrantus, the last and perhaps most notorious of those assigned to the Maharian jetstone quarry outside of Kirkwall (now known locally as the Bone Pit).
The magister was known for his sadistic cruelty. His malevolent social experiments were designed to make examples of those who disobeyed him. Vyrantus even noted that feeding slaves to his pet dragonlings was "little more than they deserved."
The slave revolt in 25 Ancient put an end to the Overseer. He was assaulted by a mob of slaves who stripped his enchanted robes and threw Vyrantus into the Bone Pit to be feasted upon by his dragonlings. What became of his robes during all the chaos is unknown, but it is assumed they remain in Kirkwall.
—From Kirkwall: the City of Chains, by Brother Genitivi, 9:24 Dragon
Chapter 3[]
The Qunari first thundered into Kirkwall in 7:56 Storm during last of the New Exalted Marches.
The collected nations of Thedas were attempting to drive the Qunari from the northern mainland once and for all. Qunari armies were on the retreat, but in a desperate gamble, their fleet circled around the Amaranthine coast and landed a great force near the Marcher city of Ostwick. Their plan was to overwhelm the Marcher cities of Starkhaven and Kirkwall, Starkhaven to block the roads leading north, and Kirkwall to block ships on the Waking Sea coming from Orlais, all in an effort to deny supplies to the Thedas armies assaulting Rivain. The attack on Starkhaven eventually failed, but Kirkwall was attacked in a daring night raid where the Qunari used their leashed saarebas mages in an unprecedented display of sorcery. The walls were torn down and the city was taken, and for the next four years, Kirkwall endured the most brutal occupation in its history.
Writings from that time are scarce. It was not until after the city was freed that the Qunari's deeds came to light: children taken from families, forced conversion to the Qunari religion, and brutal labor camps. It's ironic that the old slave quarters of Lowtown, still intact after centuries, provided the perfect means for the Qunari to control the city's people. When the famous Orlesian chevalier, Ser Michel Lafaille, rode into the city after finally defeating the Qunari defenders, he wrote, "Kirkwall is full of people with empty eyes that have had all independent thought driven from them." When Lafaille was appointed the city's first viscount by the emperor in 7:60 Storm, he made it his mission to undo the religious conditioning. The Lafaille bloodline remained popular enough that when the city finally rebelled against Orlesian rule in 8:05 Blessed, "viscount" remained the enduring title for Kirkwall's rulers despite its origin.
—From Kirkwall: the City of Chains, by Brother Genitivi, 9:24 Dragon
The Spiral Eye[]
Kirkwall has been a tinderbox since becoming the center of templar power in eastern Thedas. Of the hundreds of mages that live in the Gallows, it is perhaps telling that the most well known are its apostates.
Ceridweth was one such infamous apostate. She lived during the latter half of the Storm Age and was known for hunting priests and templars that abused their charges excessively. Ceridweth was also known as the Watcher and the Spiral Eye, so named for the spiral glyph she marked near her victims.
Templar records show that Ceridweth was captured and made Tranquil in 7:90 Storm. Many refuse to believe this, so her legend lives on.
—From Kirkwall: the City of Chains, by Brother Genitivi, 9:24 Dragon
Chapter 4[]
The Threnhold family assumed its foreboding control of the city at the very onset of the Dragon Age, less than a week after Maric Theirin retook the Ferelden throne from Orlais.
Since this was followed by a civil war in Antiva (the much-maligned "Three Queens" era) and a coup in the Tevinter Imperium, many thought that the Dragon Age would bring devastating change. Perhaps this was a hasty estimate, but it was true for Kirkwall. Viscount Chivalry Threnhold was a vicious thug who took power through a campaign of intimidation, and his son Perrin who succeeded him in 9:14 Dragon Age was even worse.
Taxes were crippling and Perrin Threnhold used the ancient chains extending from "the Twins" standing at Kirkwall's harbor—unused since the New Exalted Marches—to block sea traffic and charge exorbitant fees from Orlesian ships. The Empire threatened invasion following the closure of the Waking Sea passage, and for the first time, the Chantry used the templars to pressure the viscount. Until that point, the templars had done nothing to counter the Threnholds even though, as the largest armed force in Kirkwall, they could have. Knight-Commander Guylian's only written comment was in a letter to Divine Beatrix III: "It is not our place to interfere in political affairs. We are here to safeguard the city against magic, not against itself." The divine, as a friend to the emperor, clearly had other ideas.
In response, Viscount Perrin hired a mercenary army, forcing a showdown with the templars. They stormed the Gallows and hung Knight-Commander Guylian, igniting a series of battles that ended with Perrin's arrest and the last of his family's rule. The templars were hailed as heroes, and even though they wished to remain out of Kirkwall's affairs, it was now forced upon them. Knight-Commander Meredith appointed Lord Marlowe Dumar as the new viscount in 9:21 Dragon and she has remained influential in the city's rule ever since.
—From Kirkwall: the City of Chains, by Brother Genitivi, 9:24 Dragon