The heraldry of Korth
Korth the Mountain-Father is the oldest and strongest of the Avvar gods. The Avvar believe he brought his people to the mountains at the dawn of time, carving out caves to serve as shelter, and that everything found in the mountains stems from him. It is through his benevolence the Avvars receive everything they need - be it prey for hunters or green fields for goatherds.[1] If game is scarce, Avvars will seek to mollify Korth. The trial done in his honor is to battle in verse while being carried aloft by those who support a given participant.[2]
According to some, Korth is also known as the Father of the Skies and the Avvars return their dead to Korth by leaving them out on the rocks in order to be picked clean by the birds.[3][note]
Legends[]
The Ptarmigan[]
Even mountains had a heart, once. When the world was young, Korth the Mountain-Father kept his throne at the peak of Belenas, the mountain that lies at the center of the world, from which he could see all the corners of earth and sky. And he saw strong men become weak, brave men grow cowardly, and wise men turn foolish for love.
Korth devised a plan that he might never be betrayed by his own heart, by taking it out and hiding it where no soul would ever dare search for it. He sealed it inside a golden cask, buried it in the earth, and raised around it the fiercest mountains the world had ever seen, the Frostbacks, to guard it.
But without his heart, the Mountain-Father grew cruel. His chest was filled with bitter mountain winds that shrieked and howled like lost souls. Food lost its flavor, music had no sweetness, and he lost all joy in deeds of valor. He sent avalanches and earthquakes to torment the tribes of men. Gods and men rose against him, calling him a tyrant, but with no heart, Korth could not be slain. Soon there were no heroes left, either among men or gods, who would dare challenge Korth.
The Lady of the Skies sent the best of her children—the swiftest, the cleverest, and strongest fliers—to scour the mountains for the missing heart, and for a year and a day they searched. But sparrow and raven, vulture and eagle, swift and albatross returned to her with nothing.
Then the ptarmigan spoke up, and offered to find the god-chief's heart. The other birds laughed, for the ptarmigan is a tiny bird, too humble to soar, which spends half its time hopping along the ground. The Lady would not give the little creature her blessing, for the mountains were too fierce even for eagles, but the ptarmigan set out anyway.
The little bird traveled deep into the Frostbacks. When she could not fly, she crawled. She hugged the ground and weathered the worst mountain winds, and so made her lonely way to the valley where the heart beat. With all the god's terrible deeds, the heart was far too heavy for the tiny bird to carry, so she rolled it, little by little, out of the valley and down a cliff, and when the golden cask struck the earth, it shattered. The heart was full almost to bursting, and the pain of it roused the mountain god to come see what had happened.
When Korth neared his heart, it leapt back into his chest and he was whole again. Then Hakkon Wintersbreath bound Korth's chest with three bands of iron and three bands of ice, so it could never again escape. And all the remaining gods named the ptarmigan honored above even the loftiest eagles.
—"The Ptarmigan: An Avvar Tale," from Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar[4]
Belenas[]
The constellation Belenas
Bold young Avvar challenged each other to climb Belenas, the mountain of the gods, and Korth initially delighted in the valor of their failed attempts. Eventually, Sindri Sky-Breaker managed to scale to the top of Belenas and entered the Hall of the Mountain-Father, where he received a hero's welcome from Korth himself. He returned to the Frostbacks with tales of Korth's generosity, inspiring a new generation of heroes to follow in his footsteps. As more heroes came into his Hall, Korth grew weary of hosting them, and of their demands for gifts, to the point that the other gods grew fearful of his temper. So Korth went to the Lady of the Skies, who lifted Belenas into her realm so that not even the boldest climber could reach it and where Korth could dwell in peace.[5]
The serpent Nathramar[]
Belenas was eventually destroyed during the struggle between Korth and the serpent Nathramar. Nothing remained of the mountain but a vast crater after their battle. When the Lady of the Skies saw that Belenas was no more, she wept, and her tears filled the crater to form a lake, the lake that would later become known as Lake Calenhad.[6]
The Great Strife[]
A clan of Avvar once settled in the caves carved by Korth the Mountain-Father beneath the fortress now known as Vigil's Keep. Following a tragedy, Ruadan, a shaman of the clan, destroyed the gifts of Korth in his grief, which angered the rest of his clan. He pursued one of his fellow tribeswomen, Kaelah, who fled into the caves and prayed to Korth for help. The Mountain-Father answered her prayers by sending her dwarves, who lived in the Deep Roads nearby. After Ruadan fell further into madness, the dwarves helped the rest of the Avvar bind him within a crypt forever.[7]
Symbols and shrines[]
The constellation Belenas is a representation of the mountain on which Korth was said to keep his throne. The bear is also seen as a symbol of Korth; Korth has been said to take on the shape of a great bear to act as a guide to the Avvar.[8] The Avvar believe that their gods are able to command certain species of animals; when an offering is made to Korth, he sends wolves and bears.[9]
The Avvar believe that some souls are destined to be reborn in a different body. The augur reads the signs at birth to find such worthy individuals. In order to return, an offering provided by blood-kin and prepared by a huntsmaster is made to Korth; and buried beneath the body. According to the Avvar beliefs, this allows a piece of the soul to remain in the living world, so that the rest of the soul can return and be born anew.[10] The offering to Korth requires beasts who "touch the gods' realm".[11]
Avvar holy sites contain altars to the gods with well-hidden compartments containing sacred relics and aligned with the rising sun on the Winter Solstice.[12] The Warden-Commander can interact with such a shrine underneath Vigil's Keep. Its secret compartment hides the legendary axe Frenzy.
Codex entries[]
Codex entry: Andraste: Bride of the Maker- Codex entry: The Avvars
- Codex entry: Constellation: Belenas
- Codex entry: The Cult of the Sky
- Codex entry: The Frostback Mountains
- Codex entry: The Great Strife
- Codex entry: Journal of Gurd Harofsen
- Codex entry: Lake Calenhad
- Codex entry: The Mountain-Father's Haft
- Codex entry: The Naming of Stone-Bear Hold
- Codex entry: Thane Svarah Sun-Hair
Trivia[]
- The Mountain-Father's Haft is a sacred relic of extreme importance to the Avvar. When the invading Tevinters seized this weapon during their first expedition against the Avvar, it prompted thousands of men, women, and even children to rise up in fury and a shaman to utter a curse the Tevinters described as "so vile and treasonous, three soldiers had to be whipped to re-establish discipline." The expedition disappeared soon after.[13]
- Korth is one of the gods that Andraste prayed to before turning to the Maker.[14]
- The Avvar describe Korth as having a "rocky heart".[15]
- One of the Avvar swearwords is "Korth's stony arse".[16]
- In the Frostback Mountains, there's a "cave of glowing eyes" (possibly caused by glowing lichen) that the Avvar believe was hewn by Korth the Mountain-Father.[16]
- When the Sabrae clan camped in the Frostback Mountains in 8:82 Blessed, they were attacked by a group of Avvar warriors. The clan's Keeper was badly wounded and several elves were killed, including Marethari's husband, Sarel. Marethari Talas, the First at the time, took leadership of the clan and ordered them into the lowlands, while she entered the alpine forest and tried to contact the Witch of the Wilds. It's unknown whether she succeeded, but after she returned, the Avvar tribe was decimated by animated trees. The Avvar who survived believe that they experienced the "wrath of the Mountain-Father Himself".[17]
Notes[]
- In Dragon Age: The Calling, Maric Theirin visits an Avvar hold in the Fade. He makes a remark about an Avvar god called the "Father of the Skies" to whom they return their dead by offering bodies to birds. However, Maric notes that he's heard about just one of the many Avvar gods. It's unclear if there's a factual basis to Maric's observation, or if he conflates two Avvar deities: Korth the Mountain-Father and the Lady of the Skies, the latter of whom is typically associated with sky burials. Some forms of the Avvar funeral do include Korth, as seen in the quest A Father's Name, but the part of the rite related to Korth involves burying an animal carcass underneath the dead Avvar's body rather than making an offering to the birds.
See also[]
- Hand of Korth
- Golden Idol of Korth
- Gift of the Mountain-Father
- Kaddis of the Mountain-Father
- Key of Korth
- The Mountain-Father's Haft
- Tooth of the Mountain-Father
References[]
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