No victory lasts
If it is not remembered
The Memories are the archives of Orzammar. Tens of thousands of years of history are recorded in them.[2] Some Shapers claim that the Memories date back to the founding of the first thaig[3].
Memories are recorded on the Wall of Memories by the Shaper of Memories who crafts lyrium runes containing the actual thoughts of the ones who made them.[2]
Memories contain detailed genealogical records of every dwarf in the city as well as deaths, marriages, inheritances and votes of the Assembly, among other things. The Memories are a collection of dry facts, such as "who", "what", "when", "where" and "how", but not "why".[4] For the dwarves, genealogical records are of supreme importance, for reasons of caste and storytelling, and there is a special portion of the Shaperate dedicated to preserving the correctness of these records. Record-keeping and custodianship of the Memories is considered a sacred duty.[5]
Dwarves trust the accuracy of their Memories. However, both the casteless and the exiled surface houses are stripped from the Memories as though they never existed.[5] In the recent times, altering the Memories for political gain has been a common occurrence[6] Furthermore, Memories lack or misinterpret key events of the early dwarven history. The Titans, the Primeval Thaig, Kal Repartha, as well as events in the Cad'halash thaig are all missing from the Memories. Even the ancient language used to record Memories is not fully understood, and many runes have not so much been translated as inferred.[2]
Recording with lyrium on the Wall of Memories is a magical process that allows to record even the minutest details with precise accuracy. In fact, the Memories are the closest thing the dwarves have to scripture.[1]
Notes
- Memory crystals are also used by the Shaper of Memories to store voices and memories.
- The Sha-Brytol carved their Memories on the walls of the Forgotten Caverns, the Bastion of the Pure and the Wellspring.
See also
Codex entry: The Shaper's Life
Codex entry: The Primeval Thaig
Codex entry: Dwarven Runecraft
Codex entry: Journal of Professor Arberg
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Player's Guide, set 2, p. 17
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Codex entry: Dwarven Runecraft
- ↑ Codex entry: The Primeval Thaig
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 145
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Codex entry: Journal of Professor Arberg
- ↑ According to Shaper Valta who was sent to do field work after she refused to edit out unwanted information about the current dwarven king.
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