The Calling — dragonage

For the novel written by David Gaider, see Dragon Age: The Calling.

“All Grey Wardens who do not fall in battle eventually fall to something known as the Calling, a magic that preys upon our own connection to the Blight and the darkspawn. Rather than such foul magic eventually leading to my death, I have determined to find a way to negate this Calling and save all Wardens from its effects.” ―Hero of Ferelden

Just as Grey Wardens keep secrets from outsiders, such as the Joining, the Wardens also keep secrets from their own.^[1] It is heavily implied that the Calling—also known as the Long Walk^[2]—was a ritual created by the first Grey Wardens to prevent future members from watching themselves ultimately succumb to the darkspawn taint.

There was a stir within his blood
And the dreams lay thick upon him.
A call did beat within his heart.
One road was left before him.

—Codex entry: Shred of Blue

The Calling begins with nightmares and bad omens.^[3] The warden then begins to hear eerie music and whispers, the same call the darkspawn hear to search for the Old Gods. Although Alistair claims that it takes a person about thirty years after the Joining to hear the Calling, this should be considered the upper limit. The gap varies depending on the willpower of an individual Warden and the level of their interaction with the darkspawn. As such, Grey Wardens during a Blight are likely to have shorter lifespans. Some Wardens go on their Calling after only five to ten years.^[4]

According to ritual, a Grey Warden who hears the Calling celebrates as they see fit before descending underground and entering the Deep Roads to slay as many darkspawn as they can before being overwhelmed and killed. Many within the Order believe that this ritual is done for practical reasons, to take down as many enemies as a Grey Warden can before dying.

It is also implied that even if a Grey Warden would run away, given time all Wardens would find themselves in the Deep Roads, Blight-Lands or pursued by darkspawn, for they all are connected by the taint that draws them to each other. "You'd seek them out... or they'd seek you out."^[5]

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Calling.

Several Wardens, under Commander Genevieve, underwent a premature Calling early in the Dragon Age. Their Calling and subsequent physical taint—resembling a nasty rash— was caused by magical amulets designed to accelerate the spread of their taint. Fiona, a Grey Warden contemporary of Duncan, was one of the affected, and was cured of the accelerated taint shortly after the mission into the Deep Roads was completed. The Warden mages at Weisshaupt speculated that she might be permanently free of the Calling. Attempts to put her through the Joining again failed and she eventually left the Wardens to rejoin the Circle of Magi.^[6] She was still free of the Calling after almost three decades.

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age II.

Some corrupted entities such as Corypheus can use Blight magic to imitate the call of an Old God, similar to what Grey Wardens hear during a Blight and their Calling. This can even allow Wardens to be mind-controlled.

Anything bearing the taint is connected and Corypheus has displayed the ability to speak through the corruption and use it to influence other tainted creatures: he used his call to plant thoughts in Janeka's head and make her believe his will was hers. Since Grey Wardens have some resistance to the taint, they had to be tricked into following Corypheus' influence or managed to rebuff it altogether. Corypheus' voice in the Grey Wardens' minds can covertly brainwash them into following his will or compel them not to attack him. Tainted mages appear to be more susceptible to Corypheus' control but even Grey Warden warriors can fall to his influence. Other tainted creatures, such as the Carta dwarves who drank darkspawn blood and became ghouls, were indoctrinated into being utterly devoted to Corypheus.^[7]

Only when the Grey Wardens are removed to a safe distance is Corypheus' hold over them broken. Those freed remember little and the voice in their minds that controlled their thoughts wanes when they are outside of Corypheus' presence.^[8]

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Inquisition.

If the Warden is alive:

It can be revealed in conversation with a romanced Morrigan, Leliana, or a Grey Warden Alistair that the Hero of Ferelden is currently searching for a way to prevent the Calling. The Warden's lover remarks that Fiona was able to remove the taint from herself through means unknown to her, and that Avernus was able to prolong his life to unnatural lengths through experimentation. The Hero of Ferelden is currently following leads that may allow them to prevent the effects of the Calling, and grant them a longer life.

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Last Flight.

Mabari are sometimes Joined by the Wardens, and may go through a Calling of their own.^[9]

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Lucanis Dellamorte tells Grey Warden Davrin that some Wardens who hear the Calling reject the tradition of going to the Deep Roads, instead hiring a member of the Antivan Crows to euthanize them before the Blight can take them.

After fending off the small horde of darkspawn from Lavendel, Antoine sensed a new, evil Calling in the blight. Antoine explained that at first, Antoine sensed the blighted elven gods, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, but then the blight song he began hearing called to something dark in the Wetlands. He claimed the intelligence emitting the new blight song felt pleased.^[10]

Evka and Antoine learned that after the elven gods changed the blight, it may have independently altered itself. The Blight is now answering to something other than the elven gods. The Grey Warden couple believes the source of the new blight song controlling the Blight is a blight eruption, a construct of the Blight. If the eruption can call the blight, it could also affect the Grey Wardens and spark the Calling sooner. Evka and Antoine enlist Rook's aid in finding and destroying the blight eruption while the Grey Wardens guard any territory the Blight hasn't spread to yet. After destroying the Blight eruption, Rook reports back to Evka and Antoine at the Sheltered Glade. Evka and Antoine explained that after the Blight eruption was destroyed, the blight withdrew and the bigger tendrils pulled back. When the Blight withdrew, flowers that survived by being buried and untouched by the blight began to open up, and the land became healthy enough for the flowers to return.

After all the Archdemons are destroyed, Evka and Antoine suspects that some Grey Wardens will retire until their Calling. Others, such as the couple, will continue fighting the blight in the world and investigating the new blight song. Furthermore, since the blight has changed, it may have changed the Grey Wardens as well. Whatever threats turn up, Evka and Antoine pledge to combat it.^[11]

It is revealed that not all Grey Wardens die from the Calling. Some such as the Gloom Howler survive for decades^[12] and develop a more darkspawn-like appearance—similar to Corypheus or The Architect. Blighted monsters like the Gloom Howler are able to live for centuries and control darkspawn.

Some blighted Grey Wardens who've survived their Calling have been made delusional and unreasonable by the blight song. The corrupted Wardens seem just as addicted and devoted to the blight song as the darkspawn are drawn to the calling of the Old Gods. The Gloom Howler exploited their madness by convincing these blighted Wardens that the Grey Wardens have betrayed them and thus they willingly joined her crusade against the Grey Wardens.^[13]^[14]