Key Takeaways
- Dragon Age lore has long established that the Chantry in Tevinter has its own Divine.
- Now, it turns out that we might have met them in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
- Fans have found evidence that the leader of the Chantry in Tevinter is actually Ashur, who is also a leader of the Shadow Dragons.
In previous Dragon Age games, we were told bits and pieces about the Imperial Chantry. This is a separate institution to the Orlesian Chantry – the one most of Thedas follow – with the Imperial counterpart only having a presence in Tevinter. The main difference is that the Imperial Chantry doesn’t oppress mages, and is actually led by them. It also has its own Divine, which is always a man and is often referred to as the Black Divine.
We meet the head of the Orlesian Chantry, the White Divine, in Dragon Age: Inquisition, since she is always one of three characters that make up the Inquisition. Now, it turns out that we probably met the Black Divine in Dragon Age: The Veilguard – it’s just not immediately obvious at first.
Viper Might Be The Head Of The Imperial Chantry In Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Ashur, also referred to as The Viper, is part of the Shadow Dragons faction. We never get a good look at his face, leaving his actual identity a mystery.
However, fans began to suspect that he was a very important figure in Tevinter after connecting two codex entries. In one of them, it’s confirmed that the Black Divine has been succeeded, and the position is now held by the youngest son of the Vesperian family. This same codex mentions that the Vesperian family has links to Maevaris Tilani, another figure in the Shadow Dragons. So, whoever the Divine is likely sympathetic to the cause.
Then, another codex refers to The Viper as the “scion of the Vesperian”, and “groomed from birth to be Divine”. With these two entries in mind, it seems very likely that Ashur is indeed the Divine in Tevinter.
Now, it turns out there’s seemingly unused dialogue in the game files that outright state that Ashur is the Divine. Twitter user @amirdrassil came across this while looking for further evidence to support the theory, only to find actual confirmation that this is the case.
I didn’t come across this dialogue in my game, and no one else seems to be able to say that they have either. If this is cut content, it’s unclear why it wasn’t included, when the other hints that Ashur is the Divine were. Admittedly, we don’t spend a lot of time hearing about the politics of Thedas, so it’s possible the cut was made to keep this consistent.
Either way, it means that players have met both Divines across the Dragon Age series. We’ll have to wait and see if any future instalments dive back into the mess that is the Andrastian church in Thedas.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.