Orzammar is a great thaig and one of the two remaining dwarven kingdoms in Thedas. An underground metropolis, the thaig is located deep beneath the Frostback Mountains and was once the capital of the dwarven empire.
According to legend, the thaig's name derives from one of the seven brothers who founded the dwarven empire. Orzammar dug the mines that would become the foundation of the city that bears his name. His descendants formed the Mining caste.
History
It is an awe–inspiring sight, a great city of stone standing within a vast cavern, poised over a sea of molten lava. There the forges ring loudest, and the finest smiths create works that are the envy of all races. Countless thaigs were lost in the First Blight, when the darkspawn poured out of the Deep Roads like smoke. With each generation, more of the Deep Roads had to be sealed, more thaigs lost forever. Now only Orzammar stands—the last bastion of the dwarven race and its finest creation.[2]
According to dwarven history, the dwarven empire once spread across all of Thedas and their underground city-fortresses called thaigs were almost beyond counting. Kal-Sharok was the capital then, home to all the noble houses, and Orzammar was simply the home of the mining and smith castes. Orzammar was one of the twelve "great thaigs" that were the center of the dwarven empire.
In -1170 Ancient (25 TE), King Endrin Stonehammer moved the capital of the dwarven empire to Orzammar[3] to preside more directly over the commercial aspects of dwarven life, mining and crafting, as Orzammar was the ancestral seat of the Mining and Smith castes[4] and because of the turmoil in the Tevinter Imperium following the death of Archon Darinius.[1] This sparked the development of several construction projects in the city such as the Stonehammer Hall and the expansion of the Proving Grounds. However, some years later, the taxes that Orzammar demanded from Kal-Sharok's trade profits began to grow burdensome.[3]
Following the outbreak of the First Blight, the dwarven empire started crumbling. Paragon Aeducan assumed the leadership of Orzammar and managed to push back the darkspawn.
In -255 Ancient, Paragon Caridin made the world's first golem,[5] a giant soldier of living stone and metal, and each one was an army. With the Paragon's golems, the dwarves began to retake their lost lands. In -248 Ancient,[6] after six years of constant output, Caridin and his Anvil of the Void vanished, and with them, the process of golem manufacture. Over time, the golems that remained became damaged beyond repair.
None of this was enough to overcome the relentless advance of the darkspawn, who kept attacking long after the official end of the First Blight. Eventually, communication lines became permanently severed as more of the Deep Roads had to be sealed, leading the surviving kingdoms to elect their own kings while maintaining allegiance to the High King of Orzammar. By -15 Ancient (1180 TE), the kingdom of Orzammar was assumed to be the last one still standing.[7] Fighting an endless war against the darkspawn has led to the dwindling of the Warrior Caste, as more able-bodied men perished in their prime without fathering true-born progeny to replenish their ranks. As a result, Orzammar has steadily lost more and more of its outlying thaigs. Although Orzammar has endured, the dwarves of Orzammar fear their perennial war against the darkspawn will eventually lead to their extinction.[8]
In the Towers Age, Orzammar fighters joined the Alamarri hero Cormarc to fight the Chasind Wilders and other "terrible things" led by Flemeth's daughters, the Witches of the Wild. After a long series of dreadful battles, the Chasind were all but destroyed, and the witches burned.[9]
Involvement
Dragon Age: Origins
In the eve of the Fifth Blight, King Endrin Aeducan passes away and the two candidates for the throne, Prince Bhelen Aeducan and Lord Pyral Harrowmont, vie for power. This creates an internal strife in Orzammar which the Warden solves by finding Paragons Branka and Caridin in the Deep Roads and choosing one of the two candidates as the new king of Orzammar.
This leads to Orzammar sending forces to Ferelden for the purpose of defeating the Blight. In the epilogue, a dwarven Warden also has the option of requesting Ferelden assistance for Orzammar.
Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Witch Hunt
Dragon Age: Inquisition
In 9:41 Dragon, the newly-established Inquisition allies with Orzammar against their common enemy and Orzammar in turn becomes the Inquisition's sole supplier of lyrium.
However, things are not well in the city, as the Orlesian Civil War has severely decreased food imports from the surface, causing widespread food riots and civil unrest.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Despite the Inquisition sending a report on Shaper Valta connecting with a Titan, Orzammar has refused to acknowledge the existence of Titans. In fact, they appear to have buried any information about them and removed all references of the Titans from their Memories. Lace Harding suspects they are suppressing knowledge of the Titans because it makes it harder for them to justify their caste system.[12]
The strange, new darkspawn that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain had deployed to southern Thedas have spread fear and corruption greater than any previous Blight in history. Ferelden would have fallen had it not received crucial aid from Orzammar.[13]
When the Evanuris god Ghilan'nain invaded the Anderfels, it pushed the Grey Wardens to Weisshaupt. The Grey Wardens lost so much ground and men that First Warden Jowin Glastrum recalled every Grey Warden back to Weisshaupt. The absence of the southern Grey Wardens was felt in the Deep Roads as the darkspawn advance has erased all the gains that the dwarves and the Grey Wardens made in securing the Deep Roads.[14]
Geography
Orzammar lies at the heart of the Frostback Mountains, deep underground. The main gateway into Orzammar is through the Hall of Heroes, which exits into Gherlen's Pass on the Fereldan side of the Frostbacks.
Places
Alimar's Emporium- Carta Hideout / Beraht's Hideout
- Chamber of the Assembly
- Orzammar Chantry - accessible after completing the Chant in the Deep questline.
- Orzammar Commons
- Orzammar Diamond Quarter
- Dust Town
- Dust Town Home
- Figor's Imports - initially locked upon arrival.
- Orzammar Hall of Heroes
- Harrowmont's Estate
- Janar Armorers / Beraht's Shop
- Orzammar Prison - only accessible during the Exile questline.
- Orzammar Proving
- Orzammar Royal Palace
- Orzammar Shaperate
- Tapster's Tavern - a popular tavern of the area.
Diamond Quarter
The Diamond Quarter is the home to the very pinnacle of dwarven society, the noble caste and the royal family. It is also the highest point in Orzammar, looking down upon the rest of the city. The many halls there contain the most important institutions of dwarven society and are not often seen by those of other castes. On some occasions, however, a select few of the merchant caste are allowed to set up stalls and sell their wares directly to the nobles.[15][16]
The Royal Palace sits there, as does the estate of House Harrowmont. The Assembly is found next to the Palace, the home of Orzammar's bitter political battles. For those few outsiders engaging in diplomatic relations, a ceremonial Key to the City awaits, should they take it upon themselves to learn more of dwarven culture. The Shaperate lies next to the Assembly, the literal Memories of the dwarven society. If it is not recorded within the Shaperate, it is either completely unknown, misplaced in the Deep Roads or outright ignored.
The Diamond Quarter is the starting point for the Dwarf Noble Origin.
Commons
The Commons is the largest and central portion of Orzammar, and serves as the home to the bulk of Orzammar’s population, particularly those of the merchant caste. The Commons is where most merchants, including some surface dwarves allowed into the city, peddle their wares. It is a respectable and well maintained sector, a far cry from the destitution of Dust Town, playing host to the Proving Grounds.
The Commons has many tiers. As a general rule, higher tiers are home to more powerful or influential dwarves. Warriors generally live higher than smiths, who dwell higher than artisans and so forth. As a rule, though, the dwellings of the Commons are far simpler than those of the Diamond Quarter, and seldom extend as deep into the rock.
The lowest Commons tier rests just above a pool of lava spanned by a bridge that leads to the Proving Grounds, which are the home of the honorable dwarven gladiatorial contests known simply as the "Provings". Merchants of every stripe, including surfacers, do their business here. There is always a great deal of activity on the streets, and regular patrols of soldiers keep order. Many passages lead from the Commons to Orzammar's mine works and to the Deep Roads, though many of the latter are sealed and heavily guarded.[16]
Dust Town
Dust Town is the poorest sector of Orzammar. Once the seat of the old palace, Dust Town has fallen into an appalling state of disrepair and is the veritable "seedy underbelly" of the city. It is the home of the casteless, or "dusters" as they are informally known, dwarves who are believed to be rejected by the Stone and thus shunned by the rest of society and left to rot. The inhabitants of Dust Town have no rights and are not allowed to do work that is performed by any of the other castes and, as such, the majority turn to the Carta, a criminal organisation. Beyond crime, the only other means of survival are begging, "noble hunting" or hunting nugs.
Dust Town is a dangerous place and should an unwary outsider ever find their way in the midst of the Carta's territory, the local Dusters will feel no hesitation in relieving them of their possessions.
Dust Town is also the starting point for the Dwarf Commoner Origin and where the Commoner's home can be found.
Quests
All of the following quests are initiated, but not necessarily completed, in Orzammar itself.
Main quests
Seek out Steward Bandelor- A Lord's Trust: The First Task
- A Prince's Favor: The First Task
- A Lord's Trust/A Prince's Favor: The Second Task
- Shifting Allegiances
- Betrayed from Within
- A Paragon of Her Kind
Side quests
- A Lost Nug
- A Mother's Hope
- An Unlikely Scholar
- Caged in Stone (unmarked side quest)
- Exotic Methods
- Jammer's Stash
- Lost to the Memories
- Of Noble Birth
- Precious Metals
- Proving After Dark (unmarked side quest)
- The Chant in the Deeps
- The Dead Caste
- The Golem Registry
- The Key to the City
- The Shaper's Life (unmarked side quest)
- Thief in the House of Learning
- Zerlinda's Woe
The following quests take place entirely outside of Orzammar, though they are filed under "Orzammar" in the journal.
- An Admirable Topsider
- Asunder
- The Drifter's Cache
- The Gangue Shade (unmarked side quest)
Companion remarks
One of your companions may make interesting remarks at certain spots:
- Just outside Tapster's Tavern
- Entering Tapster's Tavern
- Entering Dust Town
- Outside the Royal Palace in the Diamond Quarter
- Entering the Proving
- On path to the Deep Roads, before Mines Commander
Banter
Party banter may be triggered at the following spots:
- On the bridge leading to the Proving and in the Hall of Heroes near the dwarven scholar.
- In the Diamond Quarter outside the Chamber of the Assembly.
Culture and society
- Main article: Dwarf#Culture
Orzammar is organized around a rigid caste system that is dictated by one's birth. There are seven castes in Orzammar: noble, warrior, smith, artisan, miner, merchant, and servant, based on the seven legendary brothers who founded the dwarven empire. There are also the "casteless," who are said to be the descendants of criminals and other undesirables and as such are born without rights and considered non-people. Dwarves always inherit the caste of their same-sex parent. In very rare cases, it is possible for a dwarf to rise above their caste by performing an extraordinary deed and being named Paragon.
Politics
- Main article: Dwarf#Politics
“In Orzammar, things are solved quickly and with as much bloodshed as we can stand... and then a little bit more.” ―Nalthur
Orzammar is an elective monarchy; its legislative body, comprised entirely of nobles known as deshyrs, is the Assembly. The Assembly chooses Orzammar's king or queen, while the monarchs can suggest heirs for the assembly, the monarchs must strive to maintain the support of the deshyrs, lest their suggested heirs be deemed unacceptable for the throne and have them passed over in favor of another noble house. Orzammar politics are notoriously cutthroat.
Foreign relations
- Main article: Dwarf#Foreign relations
Orzammar is very segregationist and generally prohibits non-dwarves from entering the city.[18] Aside from some selected surface dwarves, Orzammar forbids most traders from entering the city. As a result, most traders congregate outside the entrance to Orzammar at Frostback Mountain Pass, creating a lawless trading hub the size of a small city, and presumably seeking ways to bypass Orzammar's restrictions in order to hawk their wares.[19]
Despite their isolationist nature, they have maintained strong relationships with human nations and institutions like Tevinter and the Chantry who rely on Orzammar's supply of lyrium. More than half of Orzammar's wealth comes from the sale of lyrium. The dwarves sell very little of the processed mineral to the surface, giving the greater portion of what they mine to their own smiths, who use it in the forging of all truly superior dwarven weapons and armor. What processed lyrium is sold on the surface goes to the Chantry, who strictly control the supply. From the Chantry, it is dispensed both to the templars, who make use of it in tracking and fighting maleficarum, and to the Circle.[20]
Codex entries
Codex entry: The City of Orzammar- Codex entry: Orzammar History: Chapter One
- Codex entry: Orzammar History: Chapter Two
- Codex entry: The Key to the City
- Codex entry: Orzammar Politics
- Codex entry: Life in Orzammar
Codex entry: A Note on Orzammar- Codex entry: Darktown's Deal
Trivia
- Prostitution exists in Orzammar, with the finest brothels being restricted to the highest caste dwarves, such as warrior caste.[21]
- The pelts of red lions are greatly prized by the dwarves of Orzammar.[22]
See also
- Stone Halls of the Dwarves - a book written by Brother Genitivi about dwarves.
References
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||