Dalish: History

The elven pantheon was revered in the time of Elvhenan, before the humans came to Thedas. When Arlathan fell, the Dalish lost more than their city. They lost a significant part of their culture and history, information about the Elvhen Pantheon included. Little is known about how the gods were worshiped at this time except that the gods had guarded temples, the elves worshiped their gods for months at a time and that worship may have included rituals involving water and kneeling and praying before altars. Once the elves realized that the presence of humans, or “shemlen” as Dalish like to call them, caused the loss of elvhen immortality, making the previously immortal race vulnerable to the effects of time, they attempted to isolate themselves. Many believed that the gods had judged them unworthy of their immortality and decided to equal them with humans. The elves retreated within Elvhenan but were ultimately conquered and enslaved by the Tevinter Imperium. The Slave Trade took its toll on the elves and soon the worship of Elvhen Pantheon declined. However, the elves, led by Shartan, stood beside Andraste in her fight against the Imperium, and their reward was a new home in The Dales, where the worship of their gods could be revived. The elves left Tevinter for their new homeland in 1025 TE The elves' new homeland didn’t last that long by the standards of Elvhenan, however. Over the next 270 years or so, relations between the elves and their human neighbours were hanging by a thread, and in the early Glory Age there were numerous border skirmishes between The Dales and Orlais which soon escalated into war. When it appeared that the elves might actually capture Val Royeaux, The Chantry called for a holy war, resulting in a new Exalted March against The Dales. It all ended with the elves losing the war by 2:20 Glory. Orlais took over the lands of the Dales, with elven settlements being uprooted and worship of the elven gods forbidden. Elves who accepted the Chantry’s offered truce and surrendered were asked to embrace the Maker as their god and live in ghettos, within human settlements, today known as Alienages. Some elves, however, refused to give up their worship or their dream of their own homeland, and they became the Dalish.