Theology of Dragon Age- Part One: Dwarves!

Theology of...

Yeah, that's right! I'm finally getting around to exploring the religions of Dragon Age. Yeah I know, I took my sweet time. So let's get to it. The religions in Dragon Age are generally tied to the various races that occupy the continent of Thedas and beyond. That's not to say that folks don't change religion from time to time, but the general feel is that the religion you follow is tied to your race. Heck, one race is named after their religion.

Dwarven History.

The dwarves used to be a really big deal in Thedas, even though they lived underground. Their empire spread across the world in vast underground tunnels called the Deep Roads, connected to hubs called Thaigs and eventually great cities or wealth and culture and general beardy awesomeness.

Everything was going great until the arrival of the Darkspawn, beings that were once human or elf or dwarf but corrupted into a nightmare army led by a corrupted dragon. Their goal seemed to be to murder everything in sight, and they started off in the Deep Roads. The dwarves fought bravely but the horde kept coming and eventually the great empire was lost. The two great cities, Orzammar and Kal Sharok seperated by murderous beasties.

This great horde, who spilled out upon the surface in what became known as Blights, were defeated by an order called the Grey Wardens. The Dwarves however, saw no respite from them like the surface races and holed themselves in their great cities and kept he Darkspawn at bay.

Dwarvern Religion

The beardy folk of the Deep Roads have not had it easy, and this is reflected in their culture and religion. They are a very traditional and practical folk and living underground mining lyrium, a mineral source of magic, has rendered them unable to dream or use magic in any way. This is reflected in their belief system.

Dwarves do not believe in any sort of god or gods, but instead revere their ancestors, praying to them for aid and wisdom. They believe that they were born from the stone of Thedas and will return to it one day, but evidently believe that the soul of the departed continues on to watch over their decendants. Most revered amongst the Dwarven ancestors are the Paragons, dwarves who through their deeds are declared by the Dwarven government to be 'Living Ancestors'.

This brings with it many privilages, including being able to form their own noble house. These great men and women are looked up to by all, and when they die they will have statues made of them to whom pilgrims will visit to pray for help in their particular field, such as smithing or mining or whatever. During the events of Dragon Age: Origins, you will meet one of these Paragons. Let's just say they're respected for their deeds and not their charming personality.

Comparisons

The nearest parallell we have to this is the ancestor veneration we see associated with Chinese and Japanese cultures, although it happens all over the world. The system used by the dwarves is much simpler however, as it does not incorporate any other spirits or deities into their practices. Demons and Spirits exist in Thedas and Dwarves know this, but as they tend to target the other races due to their ability to use magic, the Dwarves do not tend to regard them highly.

So there we go, a brief description of Dwarven Religion. As always, some links below for further reading. See you soon!


See also-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancestor_worship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Age:_Origins
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Paragons
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dwarf

Nostalgia

Astro Wars- To my knowledge the first game I ever played.

                                

As I find myself squarely in my third decade, I've noticed that I often reminisce about my life thus far. It's only natural I guess, and working with people who are younger than you does make you wonder. So with today's little jaunt into games and whatnot, I thought I'd talk about nostalgia.

Now then, when we humans remember something, we often recall it because of something we've seen, or smelt or heard. You see a guy walking past in something you used to wear and back the memory pops into the forefront of your brain. You walk past a cake shop and the smell reminds you of so-and-so's house, whose mum always made cakes when you visited. But can a videogame make you nostalgic?

Games occupy an interesting place when it comes to memory, because they hit the senses in several ways. Sometimes you'll hear a bit of music and think, "Hey, that reminds me of the theme from Zelda", or you'll spot someone who reminds you of a character in a game and think, "Oh look, it's Squall from Final Fantasy 8". Then there's the memories of the actual game itself and how you poured so much time into defeating that boss. Heh, good times. I remember starting a game of Command and Conquer at 11pm and then realising it was getting light outside. But hey, at least I stopped that nuke launching, right?

Warning: May cause sleep loss and a distrust of bald men with goatees

But here's the thing. Recently I've been looking into the whole "Are Videogames an Art form" question, and those that are on the side of 'yes' often cite the fact a game can cause an emotional response in us. Now this debate is one for a later post, but there is one thing I do know, and that's that memories and nostalgia all have to do with emotions. Looking back on better days and all that.

It's almost like the question, "Where were you when.." be it the destruction of the Twin Towers, the Moon Landings or even when the movie Men In Black came out. When we recall these events, we often recall how we felt at the time. Do games do this when I remember them? Hmm, let's chuck out an example. Final Fantasy 9.

When I think of Final Fantasy 9, A wave of memories hit. I hear the music in my head, I picture certain cut scenes and characters but most of all I remember where I was when I was playing it. I was in my early 20's, living on my own in a pokey little room I was renting. It was summer time, and boy, what a summer it was. I'd taken the leap of faith that was doing a Theology BA, and I was learning so much about my faith that I'd never knew existed. I'd met a fascinating young woman who for some crazy reason found me fascinating as well. I'd joined a charismatic church, I'd even moved city. Boy, those were some exiting times. Through it all, I was playing Final Fantasy 9. So it's no wonder that when I hear it's theme tune I remember so much! As it comes zooming back to the front of my memories, I remember how I felt at the time- exited, hopeful, filled with wonder. 

So, to answer the question "Can games cause nostalgia", I'm going to have to answer yes. Like a film or a good book, not only does the game itself lodge itself into your memories, but the circumstance around it do too. Often, like a movie or book or even a smell, a game can bring back times long forgotten. Heck, in writing this I've remembered three more examples, none of which I'll bore you with here.

Well, I suppose it's over to you lot then. Has seeing a copy of a game on a shelf in a shop brought back fond memories for you? Squiggle it in the comments box. ;)