Thaig

Thaig is a dwarven term used for their settlements and cities within the Deep Roads. Thaigs are often named after a noble house and in some cases founded by Paragons.

Hewn from the rock of the Deep Roads itself, the physical structure of thaigs can last ages, even if many of them have been abandoned or destroyed by darkspawn raids, their inhabitants killed or fled.

Background

One of the first thaigs was the Primeval Thaig, excavated many years before the first Blight, but it is so old (over ten thousand years) that it seems to have been forgotten by dwarven history. A thaig named "First Thaig" is also mentioned in dwarven history, but, according to codex entries, the Primeval Thaig is considered much older.

Great thaigs

The dwarven kingdoms originally consisted of twelve large thaigs and numerous smaller thaigs spanning the length and breadth of Thedas, but most have fallen. There are only two large thaigs still inhabited, Kal-Sharok and Orzammar, the founding sister cities of the dwarven race. As the past and current seats of power and capitals of the empire, these two thaigs were, and are, considered "great thaigs" in comparison to the other thaigs, due to their importance to the race. Addionally, the fortress of Kal'Hirol, once a center of learning for smiths, was also a great thaig.

Inhabited thaigs

• Kal-Sharok: Kal-Sharok lies beneath the Hunterhorn Mountains between Orlais and the Anderfels.
• Orzammar: Orzammar lies beneath the Frostback Mountains in Ferelden.

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening.

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• Kal'Hirol: Once a great thaig and center of smithing knowledge. Kal'Hirol can be visited in Awakening and is reclaimed by the dwarves as mentioned in the epilogue.

Lost thaigs

Several thaigs were lost to the darkspawn during the Blights and in the years between. Some of these have been explored by the Warden and Hawke in Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II but the majority are known only by codex entries or from dialogue.

• "Abandoned": A site of activity in Dragon Age II.
• Aeducan: The ancestral thaig of the ruling Aeducan royal family and site of activity in Dragon Age: Origins.
• Amgarrak: A site of activity in the Golems of Amgarrak DLC.
• Fortress of Bownammar, now the Dead Trenches: Once the home of the Paragon Caridin and a site of activity in Dragon Age: Origins.
• Cadash: A thaig which was became a sanctuary for elven refugees from Arlathan and a site of activity in The Stone Prisoner and the Witch Hunt DLC.
• Darmallon: According to legend, the gold and silver veins of Darmallon ran so deep they made the entire city sparkle. The glittering city of Darmallon was located below western Thedas.
• Gundaar: In the 1155th year of the Tevinter Imperium, High King Threestone declared it lost to the darkspawn, along with Kal-Sharok and Hormak. Shortly before its fall, the thaig appeared to have a ruler named King Jegrek, who was slain by the warrior Beregrand.
• Gwaren: A dwarven outpost built near the Amaranthine Ocean in order to access salt and the sea lanes. A flourishing human settlement was built above which helped the dwarves. After the Deep Roads were overrun by darkspawn, the outpost was abandoned and sealed, however its name is still being used by the human town.
• Heidrun: Amrun, a member of the Legion of the Dead, has written about an encounter deep in an old mineshaft beneath the thaig, down which he and his men had chased an Emissary. Their fight awoke an ancient rock wraith, which killed the darkspawn and collapsed the tunnel.
• Hormak: One of the thaigs lost in the 1155th year of the Tevinter Imperium, along with Kal-Sharok and Gundaar.
• Kal'Barosh: A thaig located south of Kal'Hirol. It fell shortly before Kal'Hirol was overrun by the darkspawn horde as well.
• Kobaliman: An expedition was organized to recover the thaig, but only one survivor, Captain Roshen, came back.
• Kul-Baras: According to a codex entry, this was the dwarven fortress the Architect used as base of operation during the events of The Calling.
• Ortan: This thaig is a site of activity in both The Stolen Throne novel and in Dragon Age: Origins.
• Primeval: A site of activity in Dragon Age II.
• Revann: In 5:10 Exalted, the explorer Faruma Helmi found a strange scrawling by unknown hands on a wall there, mentioning the profane, indicating that such creatures lingered in the thaig.
• Valdasine: Once the home of the wealthy Miner caste House Valdasine.
• Varen: A thaig located south of Kal'Hirol. It fell shortly before Kal'Hirol was overrun by the darkspawn horde as well.
• Zygmunt: Shaper Czibor can trace his lineage directly to House Zygmunt from this thaig, which was lost 13 generations ago.

Thaigs of unknown status

• Rousten: The ancestral home of House Rousten. During the events of the Fifth Blight it is likely uninhabited and used only for mining activities.
• Sharokovar: The Assembly of Kal-Sharok meets in this thaig