Black City

The Black City, once known as the Golden City and the heart of heaven, is a city in the Fade said to be the former seat of the Maker or the realm of the Old Gods, depending on the religious perspective.
== Early history ==
The Chantry teaches that after the Maker created His firstborn, He "called forth a city with towers of gold, streets with music for cobblestones, and banners which flew without wind".Canticle of Threnodies 5:1-8 It was a perfect, holy citadelCodex entry: The First Blight: Chapter 1 where He dwelled on His golden throne, and spirits populated its many spires.Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game GuideCodex entry: The Maker's First Children The Maker's mortal children entered the city when they died, returning to His side.Dragon Age RPG, Set 3 - Game Master's Guide, p. 12 When His secondborn started to worship the Old Gods and thus committed the Original Sin, the Maker abandoned the Golden City and His ungrateful creations, and it sat locked and empty.
Dissatisfied with spirits, the Maker expelled them from the Golden City, but there are conflicting accounts on the timing of this event: before the creation of men, directly after that ("sealed the gates") or when He left the city.
Some accounts suggest that the Old Gods began whispering to humanity from the Golden City in -2800 Ancient, three hundred years after the arrival of humans in Thedas. People of ancient Tevinter believed the Creator had abandoned the city long before that and they were adrift, rescued by the Old Gods.
Elves believe that their gods have been trapped in the Eternal City at the heart of the Beyond and that Fen'Harel still roams the Beyond, keeping watch over the gods lest they escape from their prisons.Codex entry: Arlathan: Part Two
The Saga of Tyrdda Bright-Axe mentions the Golden City as a place filled with treasure.Codex entry: Saga of Tyrdda Bright-Axe, Avvar-Mother, 2:5-6 "Told his tribes a tale of treasure, over sea to north it gleamed,
Whispered words to drive the droves to golden city where he dreamed." An Alamarri leader, Thelm Gold-Handed, tried to forge an alliance with Tyrdda's tribe and cross the Waking Sea in order to reach the Golden City.Codex entry: Saga of Tyrdda Bright-Axe, Avvar-Mother, 3:2-4 "Wanted Tyrdda's men for warriors, stolen tribe from stolen heart.
Cold, her tribe, the Gold-Hand counseled, lean from winter's wind-knife chill,
"Be my bride and cross the Waking, eat the gilded city's fill.""
 Tyrdda refused Thelm's offer, stating that his dreams were made of lies.Codex entry: Saga of Tyrdda Bright-Axe, Avvar-Mother, 3:5-10, "Tyrdda Bright-Axe, fraught with fury, crystal axe-head stirred to blaze,
Heeded well her leaf-eared lover, unabashed by lustful gaze.
"None shall break my tribe apart,
Not with demon-words that kill,
Fear my fury's fiery rays,
Dream-words lie, their thirst unslaking.""
 Thelm was killed in the ensuing duel with Tyrdda.
== Blackening ==
In -395 Ancient (800 TE) seven Magisters Sidereal, each a High Priest to one of the Old Gods, opened a gate into the Golden City with blood magic and entered it physically. The city turned black as soon as they arrived, and the mages were cast back to Thedas as the first darkspawn, triggering the First Blight. The blackening of the city could be observed by any mage at the time, and the historical records predating the First Blight support the link between the colour change and the Magister's breach.Codex entry: Doom Upon All the World
Avernus stated that the Black City holds "an answer to what the taint is."Codex entry: Avernus's Notes
Of note is that Corypheus, one of the Magisters that allegedly turned the Golden City black, mentions in his encounter with Hawke that the city was already blackened when he and his compatriots entered it, directly contradicting one of the most central pillars of Chantry canon.
== Current state ==
Today the Black City is a home of darkness and nightmares with cold and twisted spiresCodex entry: Quillback, "its towers forever stained, its gates forever shut".Canticle of Andraste 1:11 An islandDragon Age: Asunder, Chapter 12 with the city is the one constant geographical feature within the Fade. At any time, one can look up and see it in the sky, always in the distance. Actually traveling to the Black City from elsewhere in the Fade is impossible. Even the most powerful spirits and demons seem to avoid the placeCodex entry: The Black City lest they become tainted.
The Chantry says there is no more heaven for souls to pass into after death. The faithful are gathered to the Maker's side while the rest are left to wander endlessly in the Void. This is not a form of punishment, but a consequence of human corruption. When the Chant of Light is sung from the four corners of the world, the Maker will return, restore the Golden City, destroy the darkspawn and make the mortal world a paradise.
According to the Chant of Light's Canticle of Exaltations, the Black City has seven gates, which Kordillus Drakon I prophesied will someday shatter and cover both the mortal and spirit realms in darkness.
== Involvement ==
== Codex entries ==
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== Trivia ==
* It is claimed that an elf named Temolai created a helm that allowed him to gaze upon the Black City. The craftsman was lost forever.The Long Sight
== Gallery ==
Raw Fade and the Black City.png|The Black City in Dragon Age: Until We Sleep
File:The black city in dragon age origins.jpg|The Black City in Dragon Age: Origins
BlackCityDAI.png|The Black City in Dragon Age: Inquisition
== References ==
Category:Locations
Category:Fade
Category:Chantry lore
Category:Fade lore
Category:Magic