Spend time in any Dragon Age game for an prolonged time, and also you’re sure to, on the very least, hear in regards to the Deep Roads to some extent. These ancient dwarven tunnels already sound imposing just on that name alone, but they’re so far more.
Every game within the series has had a minimum of one substantial section happening within the Deep Roads, and when you recognize their full lore, you start to know why. Chances are you’ll do most of your fighting above ground, but so very much of it would not even occur if it wasn’t for the things that occur down below first.
What Are The Deep Roads?
Simply put, the Deep Roads are essentially underground highways that span all of Thedas, the continent on which most of Dragon Age takes place. Not less than, that is so far as they’re currently known to succeed in. They have been around since precedent days, originally serving to attach the dwarven empire.
While you might already know of Orzammar, the large dwarven city you visit in Dragon Age: Origins, it’s only certainly one of the many settlements (or thaigs) that used to exist underground throughout the world.
Three thaigs are currently known, with Kal’Sharok and Kal’Hirol being the opposite two, however the others were lost over time.
Kal’Sharok is a little bit of an isolationist thaig, having been mostly cut off from Orzammar and the remainder of the world for the reason that First Blight, a deadly plague that corrupts all the things it touches and is spread by darkspawn.
Meanwhile, Kal’Hirol had been overrun by darkspawn until the events of Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening, when Orzammar managed to take it back with the assistance of the Warden-Commander.
Despite being cut off from many of the world, Kal’Sharok still maintains contact with the surface, as seen once they offer the Inquisition aid in several Dragon Age: Inquisition war table missions.
It wasn’t just dwarves who used the Deep Roads, either. Throughout the height of the dwarven empire, they were continually crammed with people from below and above ground, traveling between the thaigs for business or pleasure just as folks do on surface roads.
The Deep Roads were designed by the dwarves painstakingly over centuries to take care of these connections, and considering how much of them still stand, it’s clear that point paid off.
It also had the additional benefit of opening up latest paths for the dwarves to mine the dear resource lyrium.
Dwarves are the one people able to mining the harmful and addictive lyrium, and their methods are a closely-guarded secret. So the surface kingdoms are reliant on them for his or her access to the stuff.
But despite all the hassle and crafting that went in, huge portions of them have fallen apart because of cave-ins and lack of upkeep. Granted, with so many darkspawn around, it’s hard to maintain up with maintenance.
Why Are The Deep Roads Dangerous?
That is one other fun quality of the Deep Roads. The danger. See, the dwarves weren’t the one ones involved with their construction. The Grey Wardens also helped construct them, though they keep their involvement a secret. You realize the Grey Wardens, those noble warriors whose sole purpose is to kill darkspawn? Turns on the market’s a connection.
The darkspawn remain largely a mystery. But one thing everyone knows is that they arrive from underground. So there’s an unlucky side effect to constructing an enormous network of tunnels down there: the darkspawn are a continuing threat within the Deep Roads.
Between the darkspawn and the countless cave-ins that block off huge sections of the Deep Roads, attempting to retake them has been a never-ending endeavor.
It also doesn’t help that the darkspawn are continually threatening to overtake Orzammar and the opposite thaigs. But luckily, the dwarves have a reasonably effective defense.
What Is The Legion Of The Dead?
The Legion of the Dead is a component of the dwarven army, but additionally so far more. It’s stationed entirely within the Deep Roads, working to ward off against the darkspawn in any way they’ll and with terrifying lethality.
When a dwarf joins the Legion of the Dead, it’s treated as a noble death. Everyone seems to be welcome to hitch its ranks, but it surely comes with the knowledge that they are going to most actually die in its service. So far, they even undergo a funeral of sorts, saying goodbye to family members and relinquishing all the things they owned and cherished before entering the Deep Roads.
Since everyone seems to be welcome and joining is taken into account a selfless act, the Legion can be crammed with criminals and people seeking to regain honor for his or her families. Whether one’s motives are to avoid punishment or protect everyone, they’re all treated equally once they join.
It’s largely because of the Legion of the Dead that Orzammar and the opposite remaining thaigs are still standing (so to talk). Plus, they seem to be a big a part of any efforts to reclaim parts of the Deep Roads. Unfortunately, that is a tall order given what unknown terrors lurk down there.
Besides darkspawn and cruel monsters like deepstalkers, the Deep Roads are so vast that the complete extent of their horrors continues to be not entirely known. They’re even said to accommodate the Old Gods themselves, which actually tracks with all of the darkspawn and such.
Why Are The Old Gods In The Deep Roads?
First off, the Old Gods remain a little bit of a mystery in and of themselves. But what’s known is that they are often seen as gigantic dragons and their presence indicates a Blight upon the land. Legends vary from culture to culture regarding their history.
Many say that the Old Gods used to reside in The Fade, specifically the grand Golden City. Right now, they communicated with their followers and made their wishes explicitly known.
But when seven Tevinter Magisters who served them used blood magic to enter town, they were forged out and became the primary darkspawn.
At this point, the Golden City became blackened and the Old Gods stopped talking to their followers, all but disappearing.
Except now, when one showed up, it was called an Archdemon and signaled the beginning of a brand new Blight. There are seven Old Gods, and five of them have began Blights to this point. As for his or her presence within the Deep Roads, it’s less clear why that’s.
The Blight also can affect lyrium, turning it into the way more deadly and corrupted red lyrium. So while rare, it isn’t unheard of to come across it within the Deep Roads as seen in Dragon Age 2, given its proximity to darkspawn and the Old Gods.
The Deep Roads go far deeper than many realize, giving option to underground lakes, breathtaking vistas, and even delving right into the large unfathomable creatures often called titans.
So some theorize that it is the only place for the Old Gods to cover as they slumber, seeing as they’ll not reside of their old home, the Golden City.
There’s still a lot that continues to be unknown in regards to the Deep Roads, and without some form of alliance between everyone in Thedas, it might never be fully uncovered.
Will Kal’Sharok break its isolation? Are there any more lost thaigs on the market that managed to survive? Only time will tell, and the Deep Roads don’t have anything but time.