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The Dragon Age franchise has a lot of lore. And that's an understatement. It's genuinely unbelievable how much time and detail is put into the history of every group in Thedas. One look at the Dragon Age fan wiki would tell you that it's impossible for all of that knowledge to live in just one person's head.RELATED: Dragon Age: The Origin Of The Darkspawn, ExplainedBioWare has teams of people to develop the story and write the characters. And, thankfully, you've got us! We're condensing everything you need to know about the ancient elven empire (Elvhenan) and its capital city (Arlathan) into one guide so that you'll be prepared to face whatever's coming in Dragon Age 4.

The World That The Ancient Elves Lived In

Dragon Age Inquisition - Abelas in the Temple of Mythal

The first thing to understand about the ancient elves is that they lived in a very different world than we observe in the Dragon Age games.

In the modern-day, the physical world and the spiritual, immaterial world (also called 'the Fade') exist separately from one another. The thing that separates them is known as 'the Veil.'

For the ancient elves, the Fade and the physical world coexisted. The Veil had not been created - that would come later. As a result, all elves in that time:

  • were immortal
  • were capable of wielding magic
  • communicated freely with spirits

The Elven Empire: Elvhenan

Dragon Age - Map of Thedas

The ancient elven empire was known as Elvhenan and it covered most of Thedas, including Orlais, Ferelden, and areas west of Orlais - it's unknown whether they stretched beyond the currently understood borders of Thedas, but it's possible. The capital city was Arlathan, which is thought to have rested in a massive forest in (what is now) northern Antiva.

Dragon Age Inquisition Trespasser - Mural depicting the death of a Titan

Elvhenan had a long and complicated history. War with the Titans led certain elven generals to gain fame and fortune and power. Over time, those generals were hailed as gods and called the 'Evanuris.' If the name sounds familiar, it's probably because the Evanuris are still worshipped in modern-day Thedas by the Dalish elves. While the Dalish legends portray the Evanuris as a large family of gods who care for the elven people, the truth is quite different. The Evanuris were actually like the other noble classes we see in Thedas: arrogant, constantly fighting among themselves, keeping elves as slaves, etc.

Dragon Age Inquisition Trespasser - The Crossroads

Though it was a violent time in elven history, the Evanuris also created some unbelievable wonders. One example is that they performed long rituals in order to create places that didn't exist in time or space, that weren't a part of the Fade or the physical world. The Eluvians, magical mirrors, were portals to access these new places. All Eluvians connected to a place called the 'Crossroads' - Morrigan travels there during the end of Dragon Age: Origins and takes the Inquisitor there in Dragon Age: Inquisition. During Inquisition's Trespasser DLC, the player goes through the Crossroads with their party while chasing Qunari spies, and they also gain access to a new kind of place created in this way: the Vir Dirthara (in common tongue: the Shattered Library).

RELATED: Dragon Age: What's The Difference Between The Qunari And The Kossith?

The Fall Of Arlathan And The Creation Of The Veil

Dragon Age Inquisition The Descent, the heart of a titan on left, and Arlathan Forest on the world map on right

You won't be surprised to hear that things couldn't go on as they were. The tipping point came eventually. The Codex Entry that details this history is vague. We know it involved the Titans — huge, ancient creatures that dwell deep underground. The ancient elves called them the "pillars of the earth" and warred with them because the Titans were shaping the world and, consequently, destroying the elves' attempts to build on the surface. The elves won the war and mined the titans for their blood, which became known as 'Lyrium.'

However, it's not clear whether the elves/Evanuris found the Titans again underground and the Titans were angry, if they kept mining the dead Titans for Lyrium until they became angry, or something else entirely.

What we do know is that:

  1. The elves were terrified of whatever was down there. In their terror, they sealed away the Titans deep underground by forcibly collapsing the caverns and with magic. They vowed to forget about them and where they were buried.
  2. This event sparked a rebellion against the Evanuris because the elves realized that they were becoming so greedy that they were putting everyone in danger.

The Elven Rebellion

Dragon Age Inquisition Trespasser - Mural depicting Solas removing the vallaslin of slaves

The rebellion of elves against their "false gods" was led by Solas, who came to be known as Fen'Harel (in the common tongue: the Dread Wolf). He was a friend of Mythal, one of the Evanuris who, unlike the others, cared for the people and tried to limit the harm the other Evanuris did. The fight was long and bloody.

Dragon Age Inquisition - Tear in the Veil in the sky

Seeing no other option before them, the Evanuris killed Mythal. Finally, realizing that he couldn't stop or kill the Evanuris, Solas decided to lock them away forever. He did that by creating the Veil, which permanently separated the Fade from the physical world. However, he didn't realize how much damage this act would cause.

As a result of the creation of the veil:

  • most elves lost their connection to the Fade and could no longer perform magic
  • elves began aging
  • the magic that created places like the Crossroads and the Vir Dirthara became unstable and the places fell apart, leaving them as a shadow of their former selves
  • Solas, having used so much magic, fell unconscious and would not wake for several centuries

Elves were left in the physical world all alone. They had no guidance from Solas, Mythal, or any of the Evanuris. They slowly began to rebuild a society for themselves, but not long after, humans arrived in Thedas for the first time.

NEXT: Dragon Age: The Circles of Magi, Explained