Second Blight

Second Blight
Date	1:5–95 Divine
Location	Thedas
Result	Thedosian victory Zazikel slain Anderfels declares independence
Belligerents
anderfels Anderfels andchantryChantry * daocircle Circle of Magi * da2templar Templar Order Free Marches orlais Orlais tevinter Tevinter Imperium gw Grey Wardens alamarri Alamarri Avvars Chasind Wilders
darkspawn Darkspawn horde
Commanders and leaders
andchantry Divine Justinia II orlais Kordillus Drakon orlais Kordillus II gw Corin † gw Neriah † alamarri Teyrn Hafter tevinter Lord General Galineus
darkspawn Zazikel †

The Second Blight began in the Anderfels with the corruption of Zazikel, the Old God of Freedom or the Dragon of Chaos, in 1:5 Divine, and lasted 90 years.

History

Sacking of Hossberg

Organized under Zazikel, the darkspawn poured out of mountains south of the Anderfels. They were better prepared for the Grey Wardens than during the previous Blight, and the first attack on the surface resulted in the utter destruction of Hossberg. The defenders were slaughtered down to nearly one man before the Wardens managed to get word out. The Imperium was forced to abandon the Anderfels in an attempt to better protect itself. The darkspawn then moved east, eventually overrunning all corners of the continent.

Battle of Cumberland

Learning about the Blight, Orlesian emperor Drakon enlisted the help of the mages and permitted them to use their full power against the darkspawn. They proved to be essential allies in battle, and the Orlesian army under Drakon's brilliant command won a series of significant victories against the horde including the hard-fought Battle of Cumberland in 1:16.

Throughout the entire time, the elves of the Dales remained neutral and unhelpful. Tensions between humans and elves became especially high when the Orlesian city of Montsimmard was nearly destroyed by the darkspawn in 1:25 while the elven army watched nearby.

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Inquisition.

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In truth, the elves believed Drakon's empire to be no better than the Imperium and were content to watch the darkspawn destroy them. Ameridan, the last Inquisitor of the first Inquisition, an elven mage and a close friend of Drakon's, believed otherwise, knowing that the Blight would destroy everything his people had gained. He would've rallied the elves against the Blight had not Drakon sent him on a mission to stop an Avvar cult called the Jaws of Hakkon, who had raised the god they worshipped in the form of a dragon for the purpose of attacking Orlais. Ameridan, discovering that the spirit the cultists intended to bind into the dragon would make the creature as powerful as Dumat, and knowing that Orlais would not survive a combined invasion by the Avaar and the darkspawn, both under the command of a dragon-creature possessed of unimaginable power, managed to trap both himself and the dragon in a magical time field. As Drakon was too preoccupied fighting the Blight, he could not send a rescue and thus the elves remained neutral during the Blight.

In 1:31 the darkspawn reached Minrathous, capital of Tevinter. Although they failed to sack the city, the Imperium was greatly weakened.

Relief of Weisshaupt

In 1:33 Orlesian armies marched northwards to the Grey Warden fortress of Weisshaupt, relieving it from the siege. The Wardens were so impressed with Drakon that they converted to the Chantry. The united forces moved further north to salvage what was left of Anderfels, leading to its conversion to the Chantry and annexation by the Orlesian Empire later that year.

In 1:45 Emperor Drakon died of old age and was succeeded by his son Kordillus II. Unlike his father, Kordillus II did little to strengthen anyone's position in the face of the Blight, and by the time it came to an end, entire villages had been destroyed and many lives lost. He didn't possess his father's political savvy either, and in 1:65 Anderfels declared its independence.

Unification of Alamarri

In 1:40 the Alamarri warrior Hafter united the tribes in the Fereldan Valley against the darkspawn. He first defeated the darkspawn armies, and in 1:50, the combined forces of Chasind and Avvar who were hoping to use the Blight for their advantage. Hafter was named the first teyrn of the Alamarri.

Battle of Starkhaven

In 1:95, the last battle of the Second Blight was fought at Starkhaven with a human army led by the Wardens. The Wardens had planned a trap for Zazikel in Starkhaven, but found out that the Archdemon had somehow been aware of the assault, and they found themselves surrounded by darkspawn instead. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but Zazikel was finally slain by the Grey Warden Corin. His mage lover and fellow Warden Neriah sacrificed herself, using her own body to shield Corin from an emissary's bolt. She died instantly, but allowed Corin to cut his way through the darkspawn and plunge his blade into the Archdemon, killing both himself and the beast, thus ending the Second Blight.

Aftermath

With the slaying of the Archdemon, the darkspawn were forced underground. The following period became known as the Rebuilding. Trade, culture and religion flourished, and the next age was named Glory, predicting a grand rebirth of the world. Many believed the Second Blight to be the last.

While the newly formed Chantry was overshadowed by the Blight, it continued to spread rapidly throughout the next hundred years. Despite the glorious triumph of the Orlesians in many battles, the Orlesian empire began its slow decline. The Anderfels remained independent.

At some point during the Second Blight, darkspawn came out of the Abyssal Reach, also known as the Abyssal Rift, in the Western Approach in Orlais and a great battle took place. The outcome of the battle is not known, however since then, the land in the Western Approach is corrupted beyond recovery and the Veil is exceptionally thin.

Notable participants

• Corin, Grey Warden
• Neriah, Grey Warden
• Kordillus Drakon, first Emperor of Orlais
• Kordillus II, second Emperor of Orlais
• Hafter, Teyrn of the Alamarri
• Galineus, Tevinter Lord and General

Notes

• The sources differ on what city was sacked by the darkspawn during initial attack. World of Thedas states that it was Hossberg, while Traveller's Guide and Dragon Age RPG mention that it was Nordbotten.

See also

Codex entry: The Tale of Iloren

• Note: A Letter Written in A Shaking Hand