Rise of Andraste - Exalted March - Dragon Age Lore DOCUMENTARY

Wizards and Warriors starts a new animated fantasy documentary lore video series on the world of Dragon Age. In the waning years of the Blessed Age, reptilian wings blanketed the sun. Dragons, thought to have been hunted to extinction centuries earlier, reappeared in the skies above the world of men and devastated the countryside of Orlais and Nevarra. Reading this as an epochal omen, Faustine II, Divine of the Chantry, declared a new age: the Dragon Age, which in her holy wisdom, she predicted would be a time of violence, upheaval, and dramatic change. Thus begins the period in which the titularly named Dragon Age games take place, yet this is not where the history of its world begins. In our first video we talked on the vibrant and tumultuous continent of Thedas, explored the immortal hubris of ancient Elvhenan, and the rise of the Blood Mages of Tevinter ( • Fall of Elvhenan - Ris... ), while the second episode described how these mages brought the Blight upon the world and how the First Blight started ( • How the Blights Starte... ). The third episode will talk about the religious and political response as prophetess Andraste and her husband Maferath declare war against the Tevinter Empire and lea an Exalted March against it, changing the Thedas forever.
Our other series:
Middle-Earth - • War of the Last Allian...
Witcher - • First Nilfgaardian War...
Game of Thrones - • Game of Thrones
Warhammer Fantasy - • Battle of Astofen Brid...
Warhammer 40k - • Warhammer 40k
Star Wars - • Star Wars
Fallout - • Fallout
Wheel of Time - • Wheel of Time
Elder Scrolls - • Elder Scrolls
Conan - • Conan the Barbarian: S...
Cosmere, Mistborn, Stormlight, Elantris, Warbreaker - • Cosmere, Mistborn, Sto...
Dragon Age - • Dragon Age
Alternative History - • Alternative History
Final Fantasy XIV - • Final Fantasy XIV
First Law - • First Law
✔ Patreon ► / wizardswarriors
✔ PayPal ► paypal.me/kingsandgenerals
✔ Twitter ► / wizardswarrior2
✔ Facebook ► / wizardsnwarriors
Writer: Leo Stone
Illustration and Animation: Lito Areta
Map: Adam Ellis Charters
Narration: OfficiallyDevin ( / officiallydevin )
Editing: Kamran Maharramli
Producer: Nurlan Karimov
Production Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
#Lore #Fantasy #DragonAge

[@WizardsandWarriors]

Hey all! We hope you enjoy our videos! They are extremely expensive to make as we pay our contributors living wages. If you want to support us, consider donating via patreon: www.patreon.com/wizardswarriors Thanks!

[@pyeitme508]

Meh 😑

[@hummanaffectearthscience7004]

Malazan empire please!

[@brokenbridge6316]

This video was nice. But when are you doing your next Star Wars video. How long are we going to have to wait before you air that video.

[@redxhand]

Me still waiting for Arslan series or Altair record of battles xD

[@awesomehpt8938]

Andraste went out for a walk. A very enthusiastic walk

[@oranganewton]

“Bullshit!”

[@Colonelspicyweinr]

Ah a man of culture I see

[@zevalastlegion4228]

First of all I was a chick in the 40s and maybe also that one time in thedas

[@reffa2858]

She was probably high.

[@VvodeAn]

With phonk music

[@MrGouldilocks]

The Bioware employee that came up with the name Andraste deserves a medal. It's a beautiful, striking name.

[@Truewooper]

They apparently were fans of the Icenic war goddess. Andraste, also known as Andrasta, was, according to the Roman historian Dio Cassius, an Icenic war goddess invoked by Boudica in her fight against the Roman occupation of Britain in AD 60. She may be the same as Andate, mentioned later by the same source, and described as "their name for Victory": i.e., the goddess Victoria.Thayer asserts that she may also be related to Andarta. The goddess Victoria is related to Nike, Bellona, Magna Mater (Great Mother), Cybele, and Vacuna-goddesses who are often depicted on chariots. Her name has been translated as meaning "indestructible" or "unconquerable". Many neopagan sources describe the hare as sacred to Andraste. This idea seems to be extrapolated from the passage in Dio Cassius in which Boudica releases a hare from her gown: "Let us, therefore, go against [the Romans], trusting boldly to good fortune. Let us show them that they are hares and foxes trying to rule over dogs and wolves." When she [Boudica] had finished speaking, she employed a species of divination, letting a hare escape from the fold of her dress; and since it ran on what they considered the auspicious side, the whole multitude shouted with pleasure, and Boudica, raising her hand towards heaven, said: "I thank you, Andraste, and call upon you as woman speaking to woman ... I beg you for victory and preservation of liberty."

[@MrGouldilocks]

@@Truewooper Great post! Thanks for educating me.

[@wolfmauler]

@@Truewooper Superb friend 🙂. I thought they were veering into new territory with this one: I didn't know that Andraste's name had been used in fantasy fiction.

[@cburg6383]

@@Truewooper Sounds remarkably like the Phoenician 'Astarte'...

[@moutsatsosa]

ΑΝΔΡΑΣΤΕΙΑ(ΑNDRASTIA) is the daughter of Zeus and Need and is the divine aspect inside the human soul (or the Goddess if we address to children) that fuels the fire of vengeance.Andrastos is the male reference to the name and we have recorded kings and heroes with that name that date back to bronze era for example a king of Argos and the son of king Midas of Frigia. Nemesis is often refereed to by poets and writers as Andrastia. Andrastia's references in myths are recorded long before the creation of the city of Rome just in case someone rushes to demonstrate their historical Roman knowledge. None bioware employ came up with anything.

[@hieuphungminh6690]

The art, the editing, the script, the narration, the research is so well done. You guys are really the best on youtube when it comes to this type of content. Nothing comes close.

[@waleedkhalid7486]

The games have several moments where you discover Andraste’s entourage or people involved with her that seem to in some ways counter the Chantry’s rhetoric. Not to mention it’s always really cool to discover lore that contradicts what the people in the world believe. The games have always had a wonderful story and amazing lore, even if gameplay has been wonky throughout. I do think 3 has the best mix of old school RPG and new school, though I still miss the insane tactical nuances of Origins.

[@99Bobson]

Andraste was almost for sure a dreamer (Somniari), mage, or most likely, both Or if you want to go even further in theory land, she was a previous vessel of Mythal

[@mr.bottle]

I once saw a theory that she was to Dumat what Kieran is to Urthemiel, which certainly has its own intriguing implications

[@99Bobson]

@@mr.bottle Yeah, that's also one viable option, for sure. I just personally don't put that much stake in it because the Dark Ritual that gets the Old God Soul is a very specific thing, and seeing how the First Blight ended only after the founding of the Grey Wardens, it kinda implies to me that the hero who killed Dumat died while killing him But, on the other hand, Andraste was born in the same year the Blight ended, so.... Would be very cool!

[@theliato3809]

Ive heard theories that she became a vessel for Dumat.

[@CatastrophicDisease]

@@mr.bottle I always felt that this was obvious, actually. She was born literally just after the end of the First Blight. Either she is the Old God Baby of Dumat, or it’s one hell of a coincidence.

[@khalduras784]

Personally i dont like how everything and everyone has to somehow tie to the elves.

[@epicazeroth]

The Chantry when people start asking about the timing of Andraste's birth: ANNULMENT

[@theliato3809]

Its funny to think how Andraste was brought to tevinter in chains with her crusade failed yet left the city its victor as the Archon Hessarian found something in her words. Yet even with his turn around he helped lay foundations that would simultaneously doom and saved tevinter with the course theyd take their Chant with. The event surrounding Andrastes rise certainly have their own adventure to them that id like see first hand. Though it always runs into the problem of taking that interesting mystery behind it.

[@gamer2101]

I absolutely love dragon age lore. It’s some of the best out there.

[@RSFaber-nk6lh]

Yeah it's such an accidentally good lore because it mirrors our world quite well

[@Garoslol]

@@RSFaber-nk6lh Most of fantasy lore is based on real wolrd events. Calling it accidental is an insult to the writers.

[@RSFaber-nk6lh]

@@Garoslol pfff. Touchy. I mean making a Joan of Arc correlation doesn't seem like groundbreaking storytelling tbh. Also I'm using the word accidental here because game lore stories are often an amalgamated mess of different plots fused into one world. There's some great ones, but it usually takes a while before it happens. The Halo is a perfect example of a random shooter accidentally becoming a great story.

[@Garoslol]

@@RSFaber-nk6lh Halo was never popular for the lore. It was probably one of the greatest shooters of that time. The gravemind lore is dumb af. Joan of Arc was already a sketchy story from the middle ages. She wasnt the first woman to be burned either. Lore is only as great as the writers are capable of making it interesting.

[@RSFaber-nk6lh]

@@Garoslol Yeah but the similarities between Andraste and the Joan are so strong, to the point that the Chantry has such a strong Catholic connotation that I had trouble playing inquisition. Also about Halo, you shouldn't underestimate how big that lore has grown, there's tonnes of books and dedicated lorekeeps, but yeah I agree. That lore is still so riddled with plotholes it's ridiculous. But still halo in turn inspired mass effect, which in my opinion is one of the best lore driven games

[@victormartins8654]

As a long time fan of dragon age, I'm getting goosebumps watching this

[@kevinneutzling8267]

One interesting thing I noticed in the lore in DAO that might just be a complete coincidence: Andraste was born in the same year that the first Archdemon Dumat was slain months after his death. Just a wild theory but maybe it’s possible Morrigan wasn’t the first to perform that ritual.

[@hieuphungminh6690]

I love these series. I only wish that more people would care about them.

[@KendallPhenom]

After playing all the gams and reading all the lore...I do believe there is more to Andraste's story than we currently know. Hopefully DA4 will touch on this too...Solas must know more about this also

[@Revanchist]

Like some other comments pointed out she was most likely a dreamer, mage or a vessel for one of the old gods.

[@ChristianAuditore14]

How would he know? He was asleep

[@emilydaniel5494]

Personally I think Solas was Shartan.

[@caernyralim2745]

@@ChristianAuditore14 He was asleep indeed. While sleeping however he could visit places in the fade and spirits that took a liking to a certain event or region. While not entirely 100% accurate, It allowed him to know major events and happenings. Only when he woke up did he start to use agents to get a clearer picture of the physical world around him now.

[@khalduras784]

​@@caernyralim2745well technically he was completely out cold during his hibernations. Him dreaming about current events happened after he awoke in the more recent years.

[@hangebza6625]

Wuhu more Dragon Age. I said it last Video and I have to say it again: Thedas (The Dragon Age Setting) is one of the most faceted and interesting fantasy worlds I have explored in the last one and a half decades. The games have their strong and their weak points of course. But its the world itself, the myths, cultures and factions within in it, that draw me back in so often

[@marcusofarabia9836]

I'd be interested to see a video about the underground fortresses the archdemons are being kept in. Who built them and how?

[@eastbow6053]

elves... archdemons are seals of a magical barrier that keeps the source of the blight deep underground and when a blight happened in their time they killed the archdemon took the soul and create a new vessel for the seal to hold hence why solas is so mad with the grey wardens

[@MrSilz-jb4ik]

​@@eastbow6053do know have a reference for this information i can read. I did not know this since i only reaæly know about lore from DAO

[@krimzonstriker7534]

And now we get to the true beginning of Thedas, cannot wait to see the foundations of the Kingdoms and especially the Qunari Wars eventually 😉

[@Knight1029]

I am loving these Dragon Age videos so much! Can't wait for more.

[@tiberseptim8434]

Oh my god, I literally just started Dragon Age Inquisition and was consuming all of your Dragon Age lore!! Thank you so much for another one!❤️

[@Knight1029]

I hope you are enjoying the game and series!

[@rethomore]

Oh. The very first video in the series has huge spoilers for the Inquisition. That's too sad.

[@epicazeroth]

You might want to hold off, there's a lot of spoilers for Inquisition in these.

[@foxracing8973]

Welcome to the Dragon Age family!

[@skidmycrack7374]

Thank you a lot for the best lore videos on KZbin and for dragon age

[@hieuphungminh6690]

Please do lore videos on warhammer 40K. Your take on the series would be incredible. And with the upcoming Holywood 40k. It would be just at the right time as well

[@majorianus8055]

Dont know a thing about dragon age but will still watch this because I know you guys are cool!

[@forrix6294]

When will you resume the "What if the Mongols Attacked Central Europe" series?

[@44kryth]

Funnily enough I am chasing down Andraste's Ashes in Origins.

[@Anglomachian]

Raziel Redeemer, and Destroyer. Pawn, and Messiah. Welcome, time spanned soul. Welcome to your destiny. Now that sounds like an epic opening to a Wizards and Warriors episode to me.

[@denniscleary7580]

You guys honestly keep me going, thank you guys so much 👍

[@AbyssalZones]

This is probably my favorite of your Dragon Age videos. It does a really good job telling the story of Andraste.

[@LunarRegicide]

Loving the Dragon Age series! Keep up the great work, folks!

[@foxracing8973]

Ty again so much to your team for doing more videos on my favorite game series! They are top notch and well scripted. Ma serannas!

[@achillesrodriguezxx3958]

The tevinter imperium is basically thedas version of the Roman empire

[@echo12345ish]

I hope you guys keep making Dragon Age lore videos, you did a phenomenal job. Such awesome lore

[@charlespaape2258]

Great job. Can't wait until the next.

[@GallowglassVT]

The more I read about Andraste, the more I'm convinced she was an Old God Baby. Also, side fact: Andraste is also the name of a Celtic war goddess.

[@naturalbornpatriot6369]

Good work. Looking forward to the next. I replayed DA Origins and DA II with their DLC's several times over back on the Xbob360. All of the lore came flooding back while watching all of these. Thanks for the efforts guys

[@kuoromikuroko5944]

These Dragon Age videos are super addictive, keep it up guys!

[@IvanGarcia-xy7bf]

Praise Andraste and Praise the Maker 🙏❤️

[@apoorvlele6027]

Love your dragon age videos!!

[@robbabcock_]

Fascinating! Thanks.

[@Caesar_1415]

I love learning about DA lore!!

[@Gabriel-uy4eh]

Great video, loved to know more about Andraste. I appreciate you giving perspective on his husband actions, saving your army from destruction, your life and giving you the opportunity to consolidate your new empire does sound like a pragmatic solution but selling your wife and prophet of your realms new religion doesn't seem like a thing that would happen or work in a real context.

[@theliato3809]

He felt betrayed by the fact the maker was considered her true husband. I imagine that didnt sit well with him and helped contribute to his descision. Had that not been an issue who knows what might have happened.

[@Kmanhasleft]

hyped for further videos

[@DarkKing009]

Maferath did give the Dales to the Elves so he is redeemed, to me.

[@Revanchist]

In the game he does appear quite petty, at least his ghost. He regrets his decision but he says that he was very jealous of her.

[@DarkKing009]

@@Revanchist yep

[@JLH111176]

can't wait for the next episode

[@hajniszep5808]

Hello! Holly Molly, you are amazing this Lore animations! Keep going and good work!

[@insertoyouroemail]

Looking forward to the next video! 😀

[@sivanlevi3867]

The blade of Hessarion, the Blade of Mercy, has been copied by many a smith in Thedas, especially in Tevinter, and you can give such a gift in Dragon Age 2, if you so choose, to the former Tevinter elf slave, Fenris.

[@mikeshogunlee]

Praise the Maker.

[@O_Ryodan]

thank you so much for that

[@hesamhatami1670]

Thank for your video

[@boumxboum]

Please don't stop making these 🤩

[@williamwright9210]

Yes, more Dragon Age content!

[@Messiah114]

Loving the dragon age lore

[@Goldenblitzer]

The way that tevinter deals with magestars marching into the black city, I wonder how Romans, after Constantine in particular, felt about them killing Jesus

[@budabnett2382]

My money is still on her being a mage.

[@theliato3809]

Well if magic is a gift of the maker it’s certainly possible

[@visitingforgefather5997]

6:09 Actually the Chantry claim the Dwarves are not part of the Makers creations. Edit: found it Dragon Age: the World of Thedas page 143. The subjects was about the fade, from the Chantry point of view: "A dwarf entering the Fade is a rare thing. The underground dwellers do not dream, and ages of lyrium exposure have made them largely immune to its power. Because no dwarven souls are found in the Fade, the Chantry claims that the dwarves were not created by the Maker."

[@jonisalmela2399]

Its all fun and games until "Bar bar bar" spouting barbarians start speaking french and riding horses.

[@Jp808]

Nice!

[@brageheber6717]

I hope they do a series on the First Inquisition and the formation of the Seekers of Truth and the Templar order

[@vulpixtrainer12]

I look forward to the next episode. The lore is so good and is only scraped by the games.

[@GarkKahn]

I wasn't expecting dragon age content here A more than welcome surprise

[@damienruzco]

Awesome

[@alfieingrouille1528]

Very cool

[@metinabay6884]

Will you guys continue to the mongol invasion alternate history? Please man it was so damn good

[@sourabhmayekar3354]

Lovely

[@kg9866]

love it😍

[@crazybiscut]

Makers breath!!

[@lillith3159]

Knowing how the spirits and gods work in the world of dragon age im kinda afraid of what the maker could actually be. For all we know he could be some lovecraftian soul devouring monster "soul reaver" style

[@user-ub2iv8xn1q]

Ребята, вы - супер!💥

[@wanderingman5516]

In maker we trust

[@simonsimons1252]

It's shame they took away any of the mystery about Andraste or the chance of her being genuinely divine and instead just connected it back to elves. That's a problem with a lot of DA lore after II, way too much emphasis on elves and elven gods.

[@ConnorLonergan]

Erm the only connection Andraste has to the elves is that she allied with them to end their enslavement, and that is not even a central detail.

[@bismarck5537]

Andraste might actually be divine. Remember that her ashes genuinely have healing powers. Elven gods and her might or might not have a connection but she definitely is related to Maker or someone like him.

[@simonsimons1252]

@@ConnorLonergan According to one of the books the elves are what saved her exalted march, which would've otherwise lost.

[@ConnorLonergan]

@@simonsimons1252 ok, but that is still not the elves havbing an overshadowing link on the matter that is in line with what I said, that the link was just an alliance and the detail wasn't the central point of the event.

[@sveipr6516]

Andraste currently doesn't have any direct connection to the Evanuris or Arlathan. The only direct connections she has is with Shartan.

[@tylerboyce4081]

While I'm loving the Dragon Age content, I do hope we get to conclude the alternative history series on the Mongol invasion of Europe. I'm itching to watch Part 3!

[@samflood5631]

I bet in the modern era of Thedas, a human named John Wallace (a reference to Mel Gibson’s ‘many roles) will direct a movie called “Passion of Andraste” which is a snuff film of Andraste being tortured by the Tevinter Imperium and the Elves are depicted in a negative way (Similar to how the Jews were depicted in Passion of the Christ).

[@wondersoftheremnants]

The music at 1:01 and the music at the end

[@arnaldocosta1298]

Dragon Age day is best day

[@aleksa6548]

Before veil was enforced and earth and fade where one, Elves had flying cities in the sky(fade) So Golden City was actually already there, it shouldn't represents a place of God but possibly some high spirit or maybe old and original Elven capital? And lore never said anything about Elven flying cities and what happened to them after Elves started colonizing the earth.

[@wolfmauler]

Oh damn, I thought you lot were doing a piece on the goddess Andraste: I had no idea the name has been used in fiction! 🤔

[@bryanjames7528]

Lotta Dragon Age fans don't know that Andraste was also the name of a Celtic goddess

[@michaelthomas5433]

Just a poor man's Lady Aribeth de Tylmarande.

[@ianjankus8090]

Magic will serve man. Not rule over him!

[@emilydaniel5494]

Fun fact Andraste was a very powerful mage, and much of her "abilities" were attributed to the makers blessing, when in reality she was just very powerful in her own right. The fire in the beginning was her magic blooming for the first time which terrified her.

[@sveipr6516]

We don't know for a fact Andraste was a mage yet (but probably lol). But there's also most likely something else going on besides just Andraste being a mage. There's tons of mages, how come Andraste has all this power and godly interference around her? With the main suspects being Dumat or Mythal.

[@sarutochigcp937]

Love this content, can someone tell me if this period is covered in the games, I'd prefer to avoid spoiling the games which I'd Love to play before coming back to watch the rest (I have a gift for missing lore in games 😂)

[@wondersoftheremnants]

Please any one know the music at 1.01

[@patrickblanchette4337]

Can someone please tell me if Andraste was an elf or part elf (I always notice that in most depictions her ears are at least partially obscured.)?

[@jonathanweed6683]

Omg why am I so early

[@westrim]

"God will return only if *everyone* believes" sounds like a good recipe for massacres.

[@daddybaker1586]

How have you guys not done warhammer yet 👀 so much content

[@louisthorpe1788]

is the maker in the fade?

[@kainlockley]

What if Andraste WAS a mage? What if when she met with "the Maker" it was actually the first, or the alpha Spirit of faith? Maybe Andraste became the first & most potent Seeker. Or, perhaps it wasn't "The Maker" at all... What if it was Geldauran?

[@TazKidNoah]

This channel is great parody to history content origins

[@teyrncousland7152]

Andraste is for Thedas what Boudicca would have been for our world if she defeated the Romans.

[@bryanjames7528]

More like Joan of Arc to France.

[@teyrncousland7152]

@@bryanjames7528 That's the popular idea, but that doesn't mean she was the only person that inspired Andraste. Bear in mind that Andraste is a Celtic goddess and in game's lore she is a barbarian warlord.

[@hekok3205]

Is it just me or does the maker sound like the elven dide who created the veil?

[@dakotalange2858]

Didn’t shartan try to save andraste before they burned her, I wonder if her husband thought that they were having an affair so he betrayed her

[@sveipr6516]

Andraste and Shartan being lovers I think is an in world theory/rumor as well. One that the chantry vehemently denies and ignores lol

[@pewpewplasma3793]

@@sveipr6516it would actually be quite interesting if it turned out to be true. Would really fly in the face of a lot of Chantry rhetoric. Honestly, there’s always been a part of me that’s wanted to see the Chantry just absolutely fall apart like how Tevinter did when the first Blight started. Especially after Inquisition. I think it would be really interesting to explore and an interesting mirror to the collapse of the Old Gods religion of Tevinter

[@wondersoftheremnants]

1:01

[@corvus2512]

This video could have been 5 seconds long..... “she is fantasy Joan de Arc”. Nevertheless this was a great video as usual. I hope they take this series all the way up to DA Origins!

[@DaLordIsBack1]

Aryan Angel Super Goddess makes the best Exalted Marches!

[@commanderstark5932]

Try 10 of asking the channel to (for April fools) cover the paintball war from community

[@vikinginger1889]

It's 'prophetess'

[@magnusnilsson1962]

For the Algorythm!!

[@TheBurak47]

So does the maker really exist or was it all a dream or it was Mythal's deception ? or something else ?

[@harsa2017]

There is no way that Andraste is not a mage

[@MrHat.]

And the Maker being the most powerful pride demon

[@edwardturner5075]

so most of us agree that Andraste was a mage or most likely or a previous holder of Mythal probably

[@simonsimons1252]

In Dragon Age as it is now, not even resembling what it used to be, sure. In old Dragon Age, most likely not.

[@ConnorLonergan]

@@simonsimons1252 No, even in the old Dragon Age, because Origins presented the theory of Andraste being a mage. And if you mean the Mythal connection, chill, as that idea is fan theory and of the speculative level at that.

[@simonsimons1252]

@@ConnorLonergan Origins presented multiple theories and left it up to you to decide which, if any, was true. Inquisition all but tells you what's true, and what's true is Andraste is not only a fraud, but elves are responsible for most of Thedas's history and magic. It's bad writing to me.

[@ConnorLonergan]

@@simonsimons1252 Or it is getting confirmation of what the truth is. That is not bad writing that is just Dragon Age not being a Warhammer 40k or any other franchise you can think of that is light on the continuity. Also no Andraste was not shown to be a "fraud." yes there is evidence to suggest that indeed she is not the Bride to an omnipitant god, but that was something always in doubt since ORigins. Further no the Elves are not shown to be behind most magic and history, they are just proven to indeed be the first race on the surface of Thedas, again something that was already suspected (or rather known.) since Origins.

[@Ghost-cd7tx]

Didn't Shartan and some of the elves made a last-ditch effort to free Andraste, but was killed?