“In silence is the beating heart of wisdom.” ―Quotation from the Verses of Dumat[1]
Dumat, the Dragon of Silence, was the most powerful among the Old Gods, ancient draconic beings said to be imprisoned underground by the Maker for usurping His worshipers.
Dumat was the first of the Old Gods to turn into an Archdemon, bringing about the First Blight.
Background
In -2800 Ancient, the Old Gods, including Dumat, were said to begin whispering to humanity from the Golden City. They taught magic to the Neromenian dreamers, and these dreamers became the priests and rulers of their people.[4] According to the Chantry, the worship of the Old Gods was the Original Sin.[5]
The early human kingdom of Barindur is said to have completely vanished in -1610 Ancient for losing favor with Dumat. Legend says that he destroyed the city for turning away his High Priest during a celebration of the winter solstice.[6] Only a path and bare rock remain[7] as the city and its inhabitants were buried in volcanic ash.[8]
According to Archon Thalsian, Dumat personally taught him blood magic in -1595 Ancient.[7] According to Threnodies 6, Thalsian used his powers to aid King Antoridus of Neromenian in defeating the Inghirsh. When Antoridus turned his gaze towards the Planasene, they turned to worship of the Old Gods to resist his attacks.[9]
According to the Canticle of Silence, named after him, Dumat was the first of the Old Gods to convince his followers to reach the Golden City. He first spoke to his High Priest, Sethius Amladaris, who used the alias "The Conductor of Silence," telling him that he would be raised to godhood for reaching Dumat's throne in the Golden City. The Conductor of Silence then recruited the High Priests of the remaining Old Gods to his cause.[10]
According to the Chantry, after the fall of the magisters in -395 Ancient (800 TE), the first darkspawn burrowed into Dumat's underground prison and the Old God was corrupted and transformed into the Archdemon, launching the First Blight. Some ancient lore says it was the other way around: it was Dumat who created the darkspawn and led them against Thedas, not the darkspawn who created the archdemon.[11][12]
In the course of the First Blight, Dumat was slain multiple times, to no avail—he would always return. Some people saw it as proof of his divine power. The Grey Wardens, thanks to the taint in their blood, could feel the Archdemon die and rise again, as its spirit would go on to possess the nearest tainted creature.[13]
Dumat was finally slain by Grey Wardens at the Battle of Silent Plains in -203 Ancient (992 TE), the Wardens having learned by that point that only a death blow dealt by one of their Order would prevent the Archdemon's resurrection in a new host body. Following his defeat, Dumat's remains were sent to Weisshaupt Fortress.
In -189 Ancient (1006 TE), Senior Warden Sashamiri used Dumat's blood to trap Corypheus in the Vimmark Mountains. She then destroyed the remains.[14]
The First Blight Dumat led was unparalleled in its devastation, and is remembered in history as the longest and bloodiest Blight in recorded history. Dumat's darkspawn horde very nearly overran Thedas and annihilated its people; the arrival of the Grey Warden order was what turned the tide of the war, and even then it took the sacrifice of many Wardens to slay Dumat and drive back the darkspawn host.
Some time after -305 Ancient (890 TE) Dumat was killed by a group of Ander soldiers while he was on the run from a Warden offensive but the celebrations were cut short when Dumat returned unharmed. In the years that followed, scholars learned that the Archdemon's death had only forced its soul to relocate into the body of the nearest darkspawn.[16] Records do not say who exactly gave up his soul to destroy Dumat, for many Wardens struggled against him, and the Archdemon's very death throes slew seven or more of them.[16]
Known priests and priestesses
- Calpurnia - priestess of Dumat in Vyrantium; foster mother of Darinius[17]
- Darinius - high priest of Dumat in Vyrantium[17]
- Parthenius - high priest of Dumat[18]
Involvement
Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
The Warden-Commander can acquire weapons rumored to have been made from Dumat's bones: the sword Dumat's Spine and the dagger Dumat's Claw.
Dragon Age II - Legacy
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Symbols and shrines
Altar of Dumat
When the Old Gods were still widely revered, there was a holiday dedicated to Dumat, called "Funalis." This holiday has since become known as All Soul's Day and is spent in somber remembrance of the dead. It is celebrated at the beginning of Matrinalis. The ancient Tevinters also associated the constellation Silentir, usually depicted as either a dragon in flight or as a man carrying a horn and wand, with him. Some scholars have speculated that Silentir was originally associated with the elven goddess Mythal.
A Shrine of Dumat was built in Northern Orlais. There is also an Altar of Dumat below the Vimmark Mountains, near the base of Corypheus's Prison. Hawke has the option to defile the altar, which results in being attacked by several demons, or honor Dumat by placing four sacrifices on his altar, resulting in the gain of a Chain of the Penitent and some gold.
The Verses of Dumat was a central text in the worship of Dumat.
Statue of Dumat's Toad Companion
"Dumat's Folly" is an artifact said to be a piece of the Black City itself, a "reminder of man's hubris, and of the unique and glorious divinity of the Maker." It is usually kept in the Archon's palace in Minrathous, guarded by soldiers and magical traps.[21]
Old stories claim Dumat had a toad companion. Usually silent itself, those who heard the toad croak would die soon after. Statues representing this toad are present in Minrathous.[22]
Codex entries
Archdemon- The Blights
- The Chant of Light: The Blight
Constellation: Silentir
Dumat, the Dragon of Silence- The Empty Ones
- The First Blight: Chapter 2
- The First Blight: Chapter 4
- The History of the Chantry: Chapter 1
- The Lost City of Barindur
- The Old Gods
- Pages near an Old Campfire
- Privileged to the Wardens
Mementos
Note texts
Trivia
- "The Claws of Dumat" found in the Fade during Here Lies the Abyss are identical to statues littering the Primeval Thaig.
- Dumat was slain on the Silent Plains in -203 Ancient (992 TE), the same year that Andraste was born.[23]
- Given the specification of Dumat in the title "The Verses of Dumat", it's likely that the other Old Gods have similar texts. The description of these texts as "verses" implies that they may follow a similar structure to the Chant of Light (despite worship of the Old Gods predating Andrastianism). It's possible that these verses are appended, or related in some other way, to the Imperial Chant, which places blame for the Second Sin on the Old Gods themselves.
See also
Gallery
References
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