Orlais

The **Orlesian Empire,** or simply **Orlais**, is currently the largest and the most powerful nation in Thedas. It was founded by Kordillus Drakon I and its capital, Val Royeaux, serves as the Chantry's seat of power and home of the Divine. Orlais is ruled by an Emperor or Empress.

## Geography

### Settlements

* **Val Royeaux** – capital of Orlais; seat of the White Spire, the Grand Cathedral, the headquarters of the Seekers of Truth, the Imperial Palace, and the University of Orlais
* **Arlesans**
* **Churneau**
* **Ghislain** – location of a Circle of Magi
* **Halamshiral** – former capital of the Dales and home of the imperial family's Winter Palace
* **Jader** – nearest major Orlesian city to Ferelden; like Denerim and many other cities, it claims to be the birthplace of Andraste
* **Lac d'Argent** – village on the path from Halamshiral to Jader; Empress Celene passed there briefly during her escape from Gaspard's armies
* **Lydes** – formerly ruled by Duke Remache de Lydes
* **Mont-de-glace**
* **Montfort** – ancestral home of the De Montfort family
* **Montsimmard** – headquarters of the Orlesian Grey Wardens and a Circle of Magi
* **Sahrnia**
* **Salmont**
* **Savrenne** – once ruled by Duke Yvon, brother to Emperor Alphonse Valmont
* **Serault**
* **Val Chevans**
* **Val Chevin**
* **Val Colline**
* **Valence** – a small village on the Waking Sea
* **Val Falaise**
* **Val Firmin** - a large town near the Dales. The ancestral home of the de Chalons family, still held by a Comte de Chalons.
* **Val Fontaine**
* **Val Foret**
* **Val Gamord** – town near the Gamordan peaks; ruled by Marquise Effiloche Bouffon
* **Val Henar**
* **Val Montaigne** – once ruled by Duke Stephan, brother of Emperor Alphonse Valmont; ruled by Duchess Yvonne Blanchard in 9:41 Dragon
* **Velun** – a small town
* **Verchiel** – ruled by Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons
* **Ville Montevelan** – first human settlement on the Dales following the end of the Exalted March against the Dales

### Fortresses

* **Abandoned Chateau**
* **Adamant Fortress**
* **Andoral's Reach**
* **Garotte** – a keep in the Nahashin Marshes

### Regions

* **Alyons** – a region which neighbors Serault
* **The Arbor Wilds** – a large and untouched forest in the south of Orlais, where ancient elven ruins still remain undisturbed
* **Arl Dumat**
* **The Blasted Hills** – on the border of the Anderfels
* **Lake Celestine** – a lake located in the Heartlands of central Orlais
* **Claose** – a land of fertile valleys near Serault
* **The Dales**
	+ **Emerald Graves**
	+ **Emprise du Lion**
	+ **Exalted Plains**
* **Deauvin Flats** – a region with good hunting grounds
* **Ezoire** – described as a lofty mountain domain
* **Forbidden Oasis**
* **Fields of Ghislain** – on the border of Nevarra
* **Frostback Mountains**
* **The Heartlands** – the region between Lake Celestine and the shores of the Waking Sea, well known for its excellent wine and marvelous estates; it is perhaps the richest place outside Val Royeaux
* **The Hissing Wastes**
* **Hunterhorn Mountains** – with the Gamordan Peaks in the south
* **Nahashin Marshes**
* **Serault** – a struggling Marquisate on the edge of Orlais
* **The Western Approach** – with the Abyssal Rift
* **Ylenn Basin** – a region south of the Imperial Highway between Montsimmard and Verchiel, a beautiful place of walnut groves, hollyhocks and fifth rate meaderies