Avvar Lore Resources

Life in Rivain - What We Know Going Into Dragon Age: The Veilguard

For the first time in the game franchise, it has been confirmed that players will get the opportunity to explore Rivain. As such, we will finally be learning a lot more about Rivain upon its release. This piece is about the information we have thus far.

Location & Population

The Kingdom of Rivain, founded in -44 Ancient, is located on the northeastern peninsula of Thedas. Surrounded nearly entirely by water, its only land connection is Antiva.

Those native to Rivain are called Rivaini. Just like any nation in Thedas, there are different racial/ethnic backgrounds who live there – however, the majority of Rivain’s population is Black.

There is also a notable qunari population in Rivain, dating back to when they arrived in Thedas in 6:32 Steel. Kont-aar still exists as a large Qunari settlement in the northern part of the nation – it is regarded as peaceful.

The capital of Rivain is Dairsmuid, which sits on the Rialto Bay. Dairsmuid is the only place in Rivain that has any real Chantry control.

Relations

Because Rivain has a lot of flavour profiles found only in the northern part of Thedas, other nations highly value their food exports. As Rivain is friendly with the Qunari, they are willing to trade in Seheron, too.

Rivain has a “less-than-cordial” relationship with Tevinter. It also has an unserious rivalry with Antiva.

Culture

The Rivaini are traditionally a matriarchal society, believing that women are best suited to rule. Major decisions within a community rest on the head of elder women, who is often a Seer (see: Magic).

Rivain has a currency-based economy. However, there is, generally speaking, a greater value placed in making sure everyone has what they need over monetary gain. For example, if one community has a bad year the neighbouring communities will send supplies and labour to ensure its people do not suffer.

“The Rivaini people trace their roots to pantheist ancestors, and many in Rivain still believe that their god and the universe are one in the same.” —Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 1

Rivain is has the most diverse range of spiritual beliefs in Thedas, because the Chantry failed to become the monopoly like they did everywhere else. The three most common spiritualties are Andrastianism, the Qun, and unnamed traditional Pantheism beliefs.

Daily life for an average citizen of Rivain differs greatly across the nation, because it is such a patchwork of cultures that co-exist in relative peace. Life in Kont-aar for example, is structured by the Qun, where life in a remote village in the southern tip would likely be highly influenced by the Raiders who call Llomerryn home.

Magic

Traditional Rivaini beliefs hold their Seers in high regard. Seers are female mages who specialize in peacefully communicating with spirits and even intentionally invite them into their bodies. They act as wise women and leaders of their communities, for whom people go to for guidance.

Twice a year, the Seers of Rivain gather in Dairsmuid to meet in council, forge trade agreements, and publicly pledge loyalty to Rivain's queen. This is called the Allsmet, and it is a fully celebrated festival with lavish feasts, gift exchanges, ceremonial gatherings, and music.

There was a single Rivaini Circle of Magi, located in Dairsmuid, but it existed largely as a façade to appease the Chantry. Unfortunately, when the Chantry sent Seekers to inspect the Circle in 9:40, they discovered the mages breaking Chantry law. The mages were allowed to freely be with their families, and were training female mages as Seers. The Seekers they invoked the Right of Annulment; they murdered all the mages of the Circle, and destroyed their library of books and artifacts.

Lords of Fortune

The Lords of Fortune are a guild of treasure hunters and dungeoneers, based out of Rivain. They can be identified by the decorations they were all over their body; trinkets they’ve collected over their years of treasure hunting. Sometimes they are hired by others to help out on a job, while other times they seek their own adventure. Anyone of any race can become a Lord of Fortune.

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References

Codex entry: Seers and the Allsmet (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Codex entry: The Annulment at Dairsmuid (Dragon age: Inquisition)

Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 1

Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 2

Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights

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they said it couldn't be done etc etc [x]

I know people probably don’t like the idea of it because we’re literally playing the leader of the Inquisition, but I think it works really well as a genuinely morally questionable imperialist force. Stories from the POV of non-inquisition characters where the Inquisition acts as an antagonist would actually work really well.

Like we see the Avvar get displaced when the Inquisition moves to Skyhold. One of the throne decisions even lets you banish a tribe from ‘Inquisition’ territory aka the home they’ve lived in for thousands of years that you just showed up in. And they’re probably dealing with famine due to their land now hosting thousands of more mouths to feed.

Plus the vast majority of the Inquisition’s troops believe they’re carrying out a holy mission for the herald of their religion’s founding prophet. That sort of fanaticism in general is trouble enough, but their main garrison being in a region full of polytheistic tribes? Uh, yeah, that could cause some problems.

And speaking of their 'main’ garrison, the fact that others exist is a problem too. We see the Inquisition making unsanctioned claims on fortresses in both Orlais and Ferelden like Suledin Keep and Caer Bronach.

The Inquisition’s presence in general is something many nobles in both nations take issue with, but outright claiming territory? Major fortresses? Even quartering troops in various towns like Redcliffe and Crestwood? If it wasn’t for the world ending crisis that’d be a declaration of war.

The Inquisition also conscripts soldiers from all over the place. you have dozens of opportunities to force people to work for you throughout the game. People probably fear the Inquisition showing up at their doorstep and forcing them to fight.

It also has either an army of templars or army of mages, both which can be pretty scary groups to your average person, and those armies might also be conscripted.

And how can Ferelden feel secure with all of these Orlesians tearing across their lands for the first time since the occupation? Sure, they may be fighting demons and wearing Inquisition colors, but they’re still Orlesians marching through Fereldan land.

Also the Inquisition may have been involved in an assassination plot to overthrow the ruler of Orlais, the largest nation in Southern Thedas, the one that’s been backing the Inquisition the most. If the Inquisition put a figurehead in place, does Orlais’ backing really even mean anything? Can you really trust a faction that so readily betrays its primary ally?

With all of that in mind… yeah it kind of looks really really bad for the Inquisition.

And all of this happens within the span of a year.

Oh and then it turns out an ancient elven god was hiding within the ranks of the Inquisition and was a close friend/lover to the Herald of Andraste and he wants to destroy the world.

Ferelden and the Sea

Ferelden had never been a seafaring culture... (The Stolen Throne, p. 209)

Arl Rendorn's objections in private had been strenuous. He did not trust the sea, like any good Fereldan... (The Stolen Throne, p. 216)

The Fereldan distaste for the sea comes up multiple times in The Stolen Throne and I don't think any later canon has really contradicted this. Unlike other coastal nations like Antiva and Rivain, Ferelden lacks any substantial naval forces or seafaring culture.

This is really odd for a nation bounded by the sea over more than half its borders, a nation with a whole handful of major ports. And based on that line about Arl Rendorn, it doesn't seem to be merely a worldbuilding oversight but an active cultural distrust for the sea.

Why would that be the case?

It's always worth remembering that in Dragon Age, humans are not native to Thedas and therefore did not evolve on this continent the way humans and human cultures have evolved in the real world. To the best of our present knowledge, humans have only lived in Thedas for about 4000 years, give or take. They came from somewhere else, and they presumably brought cultures with them. The first humans in Thedas were known as the Neromenians, arriving from the north and gradually spreading across the continent. The human tribes that would become known as the Alamarri are believed to have settled in Ferelden sometime around -2415 Ancient. Legend has it that they came south fleeing their previous home, where they had been troubled by some sort of spirit they called a "shadow goddess."

The Alamarri maintained tribal social structures longer than most humans in Thedas, only uniting to form the nation of Ferelden about 400 years before the present day.

I wonder what beliefs and cultural norms the Alamarri might have carried from the time of the Neromenians that might have caused them to distrust the sea.

We don't know much about where humans came from before they arrived in Thedas, but it seems logical that they came from across the sea. In more recent years, we've seen the presence of a mysterious people calling themselves "the Executors," or "those across the sea." Are they connected to the origins of humanity in any way? Who knows? At this point, we don't have enough information about them to say. The most we know is that they have taken an interest in the recent events in Thedas, and that Solas claims they are dangerous.

But what if the early humans of Thedas remembered some great danger across the sea--something, say, that caused them to flee their original home? And what if the Alamarri held onto those cultural memories longer than most, with their distrust for the sea embedding itself in Fereldan culture to this day, for reasons no one remembers anymore?

there is literally no way that Alistair doesn’t carry snacks w him at all times like y'all would be walking around fighting darkspawn and the warden or someone is like “shit man I’m kinda hungry” and alistair’s like “hold on man I got u” and pulls a thing of Pringles out of nowhere

The thing that gets me about Varric in The Missing and the new gameplay, is that this has happened to him before.

He already had a friend who tore down his world - even if on a much smaller scale. He had a friend who was a mage, who had suffered and experienced injustice, and who used that as fuel to do something awful that might achieve his aims but would kill a lot of people, would tear about Varric's chosen family and...and he couldn't stop him. He didn't really try.

Varric in Inquisition is bitter - horribily bitter - about Anders. About what happened in Kirkwall. From da2 in his ambient dialogue we see that he knew something was wrong. He even says he thinks Anders will get himself killed if he keeps doing what he's doing. He's rightfully suspicious of him in the third act. But ultimately, he does nothing. Even when Anders is waiting there, possibly about to die, he refuses to commit to an opinion, to a side. And then in Inquisition he blames Anders bitterly. He's angry at him. But he also blames himself, it's all tangled up in the deep roads, in bartrand and red lyrium and the fact that he was the one who brought all these individuals together.

So skip forward to now. To Veilguard. To Solas trying to tear down the veil. And I honestly think Varric is seeing them both. He looks at Solas and he sees his friend Chuckles, and he sees his friend Blondie and he already failed one of them when they were in this situation. He stood by even and let Anders die! He didn't try and stop him, he saw the signs and did nothing. And this time he will not let that happen. This time he will not lose his friend. He will not stand by and watch him die, and he will not stand by and watch him destory the world.

The whole Solas thing is just a larger expansion of what happened in Kirkwall to Varric, except this time it's happening everywhere and the stakes are much higher. Which makes it even more tragic that all he wants to do is talk him down, give him another option, get his friend back. I just...fhjudbhajfdhfhareli

Thread: Sylvia Feketekuty on the influences of Emmrich and the Mourn Watch

The rest of this post is under a cut due to length and possible spoilers.

Sylvia Feketekuty: "I think I've gotten to most people’s questions, and I promised I'd talk about influences on Emmrich and the Mourn Watch before wrapping this up. So here we go! It took me while to figure out Emmrich's character voice. I'm happy with where I landed, but he was a tough one. A few books helped me out. MR James' Collected Ghost Stories (1890-1930) My favourite ghost stories of all time. James excels at building dread, at writing people finding strange things in books, or around the corner, or in the old lane at night."

"He was also an antiquarian and a scholar at Cambridge. I wanted Emmrich and the Watchers to feel formal, but not like they were from another epoch. James’ language, polished by a rich academic career, was an excellent benchmark for 'older, but not ancient'. E.g.: if using contractions was appropriate for James' time, it was appropriate for Emmrich. It freed me up, mentally speaking, to deploy them whenever they improved cadence or flow. Thomas Ligotti's Songs of a Dead Dreamer Fellow Ligotti fans may already be thinking Emmrich doesn't really share the philosophy underpinning Ligotti's work, and they’re right. However!"

"Songs of a Dead Dreamer is filled with fantastical imagery that’s a bit lusher than that found in Ligotti's later works. It was really good at bringing to mind the kind of moody, expansive dreamscapes I think our necromancer mentally occupies. It’s from a different book (Noctuary), but Ligotti’s “The Spectral Estate” also merits a mention. If you plunked it down in front of Emmrich to read, he’d know exactly what it was on about. The Romantic poets (or any poetry on similar themes: overpowering swells of emotion, the grandeur and awe of nature, love and loss and grief.) Palgrave's Golden Treasury was usually in reach."

"If I was in a jam, or psyching myself up for a scene, sometimes I’d read a few poems to get into the proper head space. Or just for the pleasure of it. Poems are great! Please take a link to Shelley's "A Dream of the Unknown", one of my favourites. [link] I also read a few books by morticians and funerary directors. A friend lent me Smoke Gets in your Eyes and From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty (probably the most famous mortician on the internet?) I also checked out Nine Years Under: Coming of Age in an Inner-city Funeral Home by Sheri Booker."

"These books were full of lessons about how people react to death, how different cultures treat it, how anger and grieving express differently but come from the same wellspring. Very humane looks at how we deal with loss and other people. Moving on to non-books: My First Cadaver, a podcast of stories from medical students and medical professionals."

"I listened to a few episodes My First Cadaver, and there were some incredible tales in there. Gross (I could never be a doctor) but incredible. And I was struck by was how much students working on donated cadavers got attached to them. I can’t remember if it was in MFC or not, but there was one story about a medical student introducing his date to the cadaver he was working on like she was a beloved aunt. It was very sweet! Peter Cushing in Horror of Dracula (1958) and The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) These films are filled with handsome costumes, ominous sets, and the oversized passions I associate with gothic melodrama. Cushing's perfect in them."

"His portrayals of Van Helsing and Baron Frankenstein are brisk, determined, obsessive, and brimming with energy; they’re scholars who are experts in their field, yet still men of action. They felt like natural touchstones for a professor suddenly called to grand adventure. I also ended up reading Cushing's memoirs. In a bit of strange synchronicity, there were similarities between his life and traits I'd already decided to give Emmrich. Cushing came from a working-class family, had an intense phobia (his was of the dark), was vegetarian, and so on. I'd had no idea."

"(Humans tend to pattern-match, but it was a little eerie.) A side note: I've seen people speculate Emmrich was based off of Vincent Price. There’s a bit of the good Mr. Price in there, but Cushing got to play more heroic roles than he did. He felt more right to me. A second side note: did you know Vincent Price was a gourmand who loved to entertain? He and his wife Mary put out a beautiful cooking book, A Treasury of Great Recipes, filled with warm and charming commentary. If you're interested in that kind thing, highly recommended!"

"One influence when I was pitching the Memorial Gardens to the rest of the team was Swan Point cemetery in Rhode Island. It's where Lovecraft was buried, and like many a Weird Tales nerd before me, I was curious and wanted to see it."

"I wasn't prepared for was how lush the plants and flowers were, and how beautifully landscaped everything there is. Swan Point is a historical burial place, and also a carefully tended garden and arboretum. It stunned me. I'd never been in a cemetery like it. Emmrich complains about Hezenkoss making him play complicated wargames when they were students, and that one in particular had three separate rulebooks."

"I've seen people guess whether I was referencing D&D or Warhammer 40K. D&D was formative, and I know a frankly embarrassing amount about WH40K at this point (No regrets. Necrons and Admech 4-ever.*) But the origin is even sillier. *Why yes, Mechanicus 2 IS my most anticipated upcoming game. I used to own the first edition of a board game called Mansions of Madness, and was supposed to learn the rules so I could lead my friends through it. But come the day, I’d procrastinated, and was running short on time."

"Fantasy Flight's previous game in the same vein was Arkham Horror, and AH is not a simple game. But I remember being hopeful, as I peeled the shrinkwrap off, that maybe MoM would be easier to learn than AH. Have streamlined rules, or fewer things to remember. Then the top popped off, and three separate rulebooks fell out and slithered to the floor. (The DAV game’s not meant to be MoM, but the absurdity of that moment stuck with me.) (It's not the game's fault, by any means, that I was unprepared, and the session went as well as it could have with me flipping through the books going "Okay wait...hold on...I think that was here...no, wait.") The Nevarran hazelnut torte recipe is actually a family recipe from my grandmother, on my father's side. I’m beyond delighted people have actually made it. (Our recipe uses metric measurements, but the DA style guide uses imperial, so I was worried about the conversion. Looks like it went okay.)"

"On my mother's side of the family: my grandmother cooked and cleaned for a living, and my grandfather was a butcher. He passed away before I was born, and my grandmother when I was very young. So I gave Emmrich’s parents those professions as a little nod to the grandmother I only knew very little, and the grandfather I never met at all. I would’ve liked time with them both. And to end on a lighter note, "Ever thought of becoming a hat person?" is an extremely oblique reference to a line spoken to one of gaming's greatest characters: Murray, the demon skull from Curse of Monkey Island. (Curse is the first Monkey Island game I ever played, and therefore my favourite.)"

"Small bonus: here’s the music I listened to most while working on Emmrich and the Watchers. Some of it probably only makes sense to me, some of it seems thematically obvious. (I don’t have Spotify so best I can do is an itunes screenshot.)"

"Not on the screenshot because I changed PCs halfway through, but I also listened to a lot of music from Cryo Chamber, a great dark ambient label. [link] And their sister label, Cryo Crypt, which does "Dark Fantasy Dungeon Synth." [link] And also Allicorn IS on the screenshot but I think I've listened to his stuff on every game I've worked on by now. [link]"

[thread source link]

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Bonus: follow-up comments and exchanges -

User: "I KNEW the torte was somebody’s family recipe!!" // Sylvia: "My only regret is that the icing was originally a stove-boiled icing made with eggs and chocolate and butter emulsified together. I couldn't get it working, however, these past few years. I think we lost some crucial part of the steps when trying to write out a clean copy. So I went with ganache for the game, because I didn't want to print something that didn't work, and I've used ganache myself. It's good! But I'm going to try to replicate the original again one day." [source, two] // User: "I noticed that sometimes, ingredients doesn't react the way they used to and part of that is probably due to some "industrial" changes in the recipe for ingredients like chocolate or butter to cut the cost of making them, imho. It's sad because it means we lost a very specific way to do things..." // Sylvia: "Yeah, that was the first thing a friend who bakes a lot suggested. I wonder if I was a victim of "Buttergate" when Canadian cows were being fed so much palm oil butter was harder to spread as a result. After a long search, I found a local place that makes butter that actually tastes good, which is an incredibly sad sentence to have to type out." [source, two]

Sylvia, re: Vincent Price being a gourmand and his cooking book: "It's extremely cool. My library had a copy and I remember it being pretty big, too." [source]

User: "I was following this thread and I'm delighted about all of these facts and information. Thank you for sharing!" // Sylvia: "Aw thank you! And thanks for reading, it was nice to unpack all the stuff kicking around my mental attic." [source]

User, re: MFC: "Sorry to post again but this one got me- my mom is a doc, and i remember her telling me stories of the cadaver she worked on (evidence of different surgeries she had, the cancer she had, etc), and mom always ended her stories saying how thankful she was to her. It really does stick around." // Sylvia: "No need to apologize, I liked hearing about your mom's reaction! It's exactly what I kept hearing and reading about, a sense of reverence for the gift." [source]

Sylvia: ""The irony that I had to convert the measurements back to metric" Haha. I tried to get as close as I could. Here's the written down metric version of the cake batter. It's an older recipe so I had to try to guess what a "knife tip" ended up as." [source]

A user on the torte being a family recipe: "Oh my gosh 🥹 that makes it all even lovelier!" // Sylvia: "Thanks! I was really excited to share the family recipe, it's a bit of work but it's one of my favorites." [source]

A user under the post about MR James' Collected Ghost Stories: "So you're probably the one behind the mysterious bronze whistle, I take it?" // Sylvia: "Haha, guilty. Cameron Harris, our editor, helped me figure out a phonetic guide to the latin. (If it fails anywhere it's very likely my fault.)" [source]

User: "As an avid Emmrich lover & someone trying to write some Emmrich POVs in my Emrook fanfictions, I can not thank you ENOUGH for this wealth of info / music inspo to go off of" // Sylvia: "Thank you! (Seriously though some of those songs probably only make sense to me, they're not all thematically on point, but some are. Hope you enjoy!)" [source]

User: "As another "needs a million hours of droning ambient music to write" writer I appreciate these greatly" // Sylvia: "We both have good taste! 🎶" [source]

User: "Thank you for writing out this list!! Peter Cushing makes so much sense as an influence. I love the variety of media here, it gives me so much new stuff to check out!" // Sylvia: "Thank you for reading! If you do check out some of this stuff, hope you enjoy!" [source]

Sylvia: "thanks so much, and for reading the thread! It was fun to write." [source]

User: "Thank you for sharing these books!I was looking for a good ghost book" // Sylvia: "Thanks! Hope you enjoy James. "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" was the first story of his I read and I'll never forget that experience." [source] // Sylvia: "I just love the mood James could create, so much." [source]

User: "ELECTRIC SIX MENTION" // Sylvia: "My greatest favorites, now and forever." [source]

Sylvia: "Please archive away, I am intent on deleting the account eventually but it'd be nice to know people could look this stuff up later if they're curious. (Future generations need to know which Atrium Carceri tracks I listened to!)" [source]

User: "Amongst many things, not the least of which is the gratitude and delight of having your fantastic insight into the writing process of Emmrich, my grandmother’s hazelnut torte is fantastically close to the Nevarran version which was a delightful discovery." // Sylvia: "Ah now nice. I assume she was also central/eastern European then? I suspect it was a popular recipe at a certain time." [source]

User: "As an ex-mortician turned game writer, this was a FASCINATING read!" // Sylvia: "Haha, I definitely took inspiration from morticians! (Thank you for checking it out, that thread got long)" [source]

[thread source link]

DRAGON AGE INQUISITION COSPLAY & CRAFTING FABRICS

Hello there, fellow gigantic nerd! Do you have the need to make game-accurate Sera pants? Maybe a cute dress from Dales Loden Wool? WELL BOY HOWDY, YOU’RE IN LUCK.

Inspired by way too many hours of crafting in Dragon Age Inquisition, I figured we could all stand to do a little real-life crafting. Great for cosplay, also awesome for more day-to-day projects, Spoonflower provides a ton of different fabric types you can get these prints on.

I’ve done my best to get the sizes and colors as game-accurate as possible, and have provided a few screenshots to job your memory. (Some have wonky lighting - forgive, me, as DAI doesn’t want to zoom) HOWEVER, if your project calls for something a little different, don’t hesitate to contact me! I’m happy to tweak patterns, and I love love love seeing photos of your awesome work!

Even if you’ve ordered from Spoonflower before, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to order a sample swatch of you desired pattern/fabric combo first. Colors vary across fabric types and I can’t test every single combination, so get a test swatch. GET A TEST SWATCH. If it comes out weird, let me know, and we’ll get it right!

Dragon Age Inquisition Fabric Collection

Plaideweave

Plush Fustian Velvet

Samite

Darkened Samite

Infused Vyrantium Samite

Silk Brocade

Dales Loden Wool

Ring Velvet

Imperial Vestment Cotton

Royale Sea Silk

they stopped a whole ass blight. give them the griffon.

𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈❜𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 unless I'm here by your side. | ♬ ❝ I'm Not A Saint ❞ by Billy Raffoul.