Prologue

"All right, all right. I'll read it again, but only once more. Then it's off to sleep, my girl. Are you laying comfortably, Pup? Yes? Then I'll begin...

"The Chantry teaches us that it is the hubris of Man which brought the darkspawn into our world. The mages had sought to usurp heaven...but instead, they destroyed it. They were cast out. Twisted, and cursed, by their own corruption. They returned as monsters. The first of the darkspawn. They became a Blight upon the lands. 

Unstoppable.

Relentless.

The dwarven kingdoms were the first to fall. From the Deep Roads, the darkspawn drove at us again and again until finally we neared annihilation.

Then, the Grey Wardens came.

Men and women from every race; warriors and mages, barbarians and kings. The Grey Wardens sacrificed everything to stem the tide of darkness and prevail.

It has been four centuries since that victory, and they have kept their vigil. They have watched and waited for the darkspawn to return. But those who once called them heroes, have forgotten.

Now, they are few; their warnings ignored for too long. It may already be too late.

For only they know what lies on the horizon..."