Thedas

DA:O, DA:A, DAII, and DAI

Fantasy

Background
The Chantry calendar measures time in "Ages". The current one is the Dragon Age, while the period before was the Blessed Age. Each Age lasts approximately a century and there have been nine so far.

The first Age, called Divine Age, was marked by the creation of the Chantry. Time periods before that are called Ancient, so 400 years before the first Age would be -400 Ancient. This is equivalent to 800 TE by the Imperial reckoning or about 1,300 years before the present.

In the 99th year of each Age, the Divine looks for an event or portent in order to determine the name of the new Age. The last portent was a dragon awakening and going on a rampage, which suggested an age full of violence and destruction.[1]

Ancient
The years before the foundation of the Chantry are referred to as "Ancient" and are counted backwards: the year immediately preceding 1:1 Divine (the first year of the first named Age) is -1 Ancient, the year before that is -2 Ancient, and so on. Unlike the Tevinter and Elven calendars, the Chantry calendar doesn't have a year zero.

Reaching far back into unrecorded history, the Ancient Age saw the rise and fall of Elvhenan, the arrival of the first humans to Thedas, the creation of most dwarven thaigs and the Deep Roads, the zenith of the Tevinter Imperium, the defilement of the Golden City, the first and longest Blight, the discovery and loss of golem-making, formation of the order of the Grey Wardens, the barbarian invasion of the Tevinter Imperium led by the prophetess Andraste, which ended in her betrayal and death, and the founding of the second elven homeland in the Dales. Many of the events of this time period are known only from oral tradition and have been heavily mythologized as a result.

Divine Age
Following the death of their prophetess, the Disciples of Andraste compile the Chant of Light from her teachings, but it's not until they find support of a strong state leader, the future Emperor Kordillus Drakon I of Orlais, that their cult becomes an organized religion. Drakon forms the Chantry as his new state's religion and has Justinia I crowned as the first ever Divine, giving the first Age its name. Shortly thereafter, the Second Blight strikes Thedas and as the Tevinter Imperium proves unwilling to defend its former provinces, Thedosians turn to Kordillus Drakon for salvation. In the wake of his brilliant military campaigns against the Darkspawn, Drakon's empire and the Chantry it represents grow rapidly. The Nevarran Accord of 1:20 Divine establishes the Circle of Magi, a system that allows hitherto ostracized mages to fight the Blight under the Chantry and specifically the Templar Order's supervision. The Grey Wardens convert to the Andrastean faith in gratitude for Drakon's support, further popularizing his religion. Meanwhile, the Dales repeatedly refuse to help human nations against the Blight, and hostility between humans and elves increases. Although the rapid Orlesian expansion stops after Emperor Drakon's death in 1:45 Divine, the Chant of Light spreads throughout Thedas, including Tevinter Imperium. Archdemon Zazikel is finally defeated by the combined armies of the human nations and the Grey Wardens in 1:95 Divine, ending the Blight and starting the period known as "Rebuilding", characterized by rapid growth of culture, trade, and religion in Thedas.

Glory Age
The Glory Age, named after the popular attitude in the wake of the Archdemon's defeat, sees the tension between the elven Dales and the human nations, first and foremost, Orlais, escalate into open war. Although initially victorious, the elven nation is crushed within a decade after the Orlesian Chantry calls upon other Andrastean countries for help. This "Exalted March", styled after Andraste's march on Tevinter, is successful in annexing the Dales into the Orlesian Empire and scattering the elves once more across the world, now forced to live either in Alienages, or as homeless vagabonds. Another Exalted March lifts the Tevinter occupation of Starkhaven in 2:80 Glory. The first Circle of Magi is annulled in 2:83 Glory in Nevarra.

Towers Age
The Grand Cathedral of Val Royeaux, the religious center of the Andrastean faith and the seat of the Divine, is completed after two centuries of construction, giving the new Age its name. Soon thereafter, the Third Blight strikes Thedas, but the Grey Wardens are able to quickly organize a defense and lead the armies of both Orlais and Tevinter to great victory over the Archdemon Toth's Horde at Hunter Fell in 3:25 Towers. The cooperation between two empires doesn't last, however, and in 3:87 Towers, the great Chantry schism occurs as the "Imperial Chantry" cuts ties to Val Royeaux over different theological views on Andraste's divinity and on the role of magic and mages in the society. The Imperial Chantry elects its own Divine, labeled "Black Divine" by the orthodox denomination, and declares the death of the incumbent Orlesian Divine a holiday in Tevinter.

Black Age
Starting in 4:40 Black, the Orlesian Chantry calls for four Exalted Marches to crush the newly formed Imperial Chantry and bring the Tevinter Imperium back under its influence. With the last Exalted March taking place as late as 5:10 Exalted, all four, however, fail to take Minrathous and serve only to further estrange it from Val Royeaux. Simultaneously, the Orlesian Empire attempts to invade the Alamarri lands, birthplace of Andraste, but is repelled by the locals.

Exalted Age
Divine Justinia II names the new Age after the still-ongoing Exalted Marches against Tevinter, but these come to an abrupt halt as the Fourth Blight breaks out. With the Orlesian and Tevinter empires less than willing to help, the elven Grey Warden Garahel unites the rest of Thedas and slays the Archdemon Andoral at the colossal battle of Ayesleigh in 5:24 Exalted, giving his life to end the Blight. So many Darkspawn are killed by Garahel's army that many believe they will never return (and indeed, it takes them 400 years to form another Horde), but the Grey Wardens' iconic griffons also take a heavy hit and become extinct over the next two centuries. In the south, the future King Calenhad Theirin unites the Alamarri tribes, founding the Kingdom of Ferelden in 5:42 Exalted.

Steel Age
The name of this Age is traced to the murder of Queen Madrigal of Antiva, found impaled by four steel swords in the woods. It is dominated historically and politically by the First Qunari War, which breaks out soon after the first Qunari land on and conquer the Tevinter island of Par Vollen in 6:30 Steel. The Qunari push deeply into Tevinter Imperium, Rivain, Antiva, forcibly converting their inhabitants to the Qun, before the human resistance organizes itself and repels the invaders. Widespread hunting of dragons leads to their borderline extinction.

Storm Age
As the First Qunari War draws to a stalemate, the Orlesian and Imperial Chantries join forces and call for the "New Exalted Marches" against the invaders. In the south, the Grey Wardens are banished from Ferelden following a failed coup d'état by Warden-Commander Sophia Dryden. After over 150 years and three Exalted Marches, the Qunari Wars come to an end with the peace treaty of Llomerryn, signed by the Qunari and all human nations except Tevinter, who continue their struggle to take back Par Vollen.

Blessed Age
The birth of the Orlesian Emperor Etienne I's twin sons is declared a good omen by the Chantry, giving the new Age its name. In 8:24 Blessed, the Orlesian Empire launches its second invasion of the Fereldan Valley and successfully sacks Denerim. Despite being driven underground, the Theirin royal bloodline enjoys the support of old Fereldan nobility and continues the struggle against the Orlesian occupation in what becomes known as the Fereldan Rebellion.

Dragon Age
The current Age is named after the first high dragon sighted in centuries. The Fereldan Rebellion successfully drives the Orlesian forces out and reestablishes Ferelden's sovereignty in 9:2 Dragon.

The mage is a playable class in Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, Dragon Age Legends, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Mages are able to use, control and interact with magic. In order to qualify to be a mage, one must be an elf, a human, or a Qunari. Dwarves cannot be mages, as they are unable to connect with the Fade. This is due to their prolonged exposure to lyrium, becoming immune to its effects.

Characteristics
A mage is fire made flesh and a demon asleep
proverb
Velanna casting spell.png
Velanna spellcasting.
In Thedas, magic is a natural physical phenomenon such as gravity or magnetism. Some people are born with the ability to interact with, control, and shape it. The Tevinter Imperium even had mage genealogies of all families that would produce children with magical talent. Eventually, several social classes of mages were established in Tevinter, from the "Altus" (magisters), mages who had a long lineage of magic in their bloodlines, to the "Laetan" - mages with no family history of magic use.
Conventional magic originates from the Fade, the realm where spirits dwell and where humans, qunari, and elves visit when they dream. For non-mages, entering the Fade while dreaming is a fleeting experience; but for mages, they are fully conscious during the entire incident. Mana is a measurement of one's ability to channel energy from the Fade, and this energy is expended in the practice of magic. Just as the Fade can be reshaped by those who have grasped its nature, so can the world of Thedas be manipulated by magic via willing things into being. The ability of a living being to expend mana is what defines a mage.[1][2]

The act of drawing power from the Fade can draw the attention of the spiritual beings on the other side of the Veil, leading to an increased risk of demonic possession if the mages are not vigilant enough. A possessed mage becomes a distortion of his or her former self, a twisted monster known as an abomination that has enough power to wipe entire villages off the map. It is for this reason that a mage must have enough willpower to master their magic so they can resist demons while they are "awake" in the Fade.

With the proper training, mages are capable of manipulating the basic elements, such as conjuring gouts of flame and small, localized ice and electrical storms. There are also spells that allow for the temporary reanimation of corpses and the draining of an opponent's life-force. More altruistic mages can use their powers to help and heal, or summon benevolent spirits in times of need. Though they are often ostracized to the point of persecution, mages are key for everyday life in Thedas. They serve as its healers, scholars, scientists, and weapons of war.

Spirit mediums are caled the mages who possess the rare talent of detecting and communicating with demons and spirits. Rhys is known to be a spirid medium.[3]

There are limitations to the application of magic, however. Teleportation, resurrection (under normal circumstances) [4] and physically entering the Fade (in the absence of a great deal of lyrium and potentially the aid of blood magic) are not possible.[5] Magic also cannot prevent a potentially fatal incident such as falling from a building.[6] Furthermore, the powers of a mage require a direct line of sight to a target, and have a limited range.[7]

There are two schools of magic that bear no connection to the Fade: blood magic, which draws power directly from blood, and blight magic, which is driven by the taint.
A mage uses magic by tapping into the power of the Fade to essentially question reality, rendering it mutable and able to be reshaped. To this end, templars are the ideal foils for mages, having been trained specifically to counter and "deny" magic.[8] This is done by a unique method of reinforcing the reality and immutability of the world. Like a door being slammed in the mage's face, magical effects dissipate and the mage is unable to reshape a suddenly stubborn world. From a mage's perspective it appears to be less spell interruption and more a templar reinforcing a reality in which that spell cannot be cast in the first place.[9]Cole offers a different explanation for the powers of the templars: after ingesting lyrium their bodies become incomplete and try to connect to something older and bigger than they are. They reach for that "other thing" and magic has no room to come in.[10]