#Darktown

[fashionablyfyrdraaca]

DARKTOWN

[thenevarranaccord]

Xenon the Antiquarian

I left the Black Emporium empty-handed for two reasons. First: most of the items were priced far beyond what I could afford. Second: I spend most of my short time there trying to sate my curiosity about its proprietor. I found myself stealing glances at the Antiquarian from behind piles of books, between shelves, and at one point, over a basket of mismatched socks. There he sat, petrified, in the center of the Emporium, skin of waxy gray over ancient taut sinew, moaning in a voice so dry and brittle it sounded like the snapping of twigs after a drought.

A girl of not more than twelve scurried to and fro to fulfill his numerous requests. Another patron noticed my fascination and told me that the girl--most likely an urchin rescued from the street--was responsible for the needs of the Antiquarian--feeding, washing, and the like. So impossibly old is he and so fragile his skin, he can only tolerate the barest whisper of touches from the smallest and most tender of his servants.

"Only in this way may he come close to his lost youth," said the man.

I was surrounded by objects of legend, yet none fascinated me as did the Antiquarian.

--From a journal page found in Kirkwall's Darktown, written by an unknown author

[afrotumble]

'Darktown' Imagines What It Was Like For Atlanta's First Black Policemen : NPR

[exhausted-archivist]

If you look at the walls it's stone. Kirkwall was a quarry in the past for jet stone (technically this implies Kirkwall should be built out of black stone, Kirk actually means black, so the name translates to Black Wall ironically), the walls and floor have the texture of cut stone. There are portions that are wood, like the wall with the mural on the left.

This doorway is made of wood, but you can see the texture of the stone on the pillars is the same as the walls.

Additionally, there are these little bits that describe darktown and the sewers to also be formed out of caves, and describes Kirkwall as a stone city.

In the back alleys of Lowtown you can find extraordinary things. Priceless tomes of knowledge can be bought with a handful of gold: The Chant of Archon Lovias, a whole chapter of the Midnight Compendium. Some of these books were thought lost forever! And these are no forgeries. I've verified their authenticity myself. The fences have no inkling that what they're selling has value. Where did these books come from? After several failed attempts, I got my answer underneath the city. There is a hive of hidden passages in Kirkwall's sewers. Now and then a lucky "sewer rat" comes across an unlooted chamber, and then a cache of ancient Tevinter relics spreads through the black market. We must search below the city. —Underneath a cobblestone with curious markings, faintly glowing. It is signed, "The Band of Three"

A maze of caves, sewers, and hidden passages! We found three Tevinter chambers already looted, but today (tonight?) we found one closed. It was a small cell containing a few trinkets and a common tome, but it symbolizes hope. The magisters had hundreds of mages deep below Kirkwall. They lived and researched here, far from the scrutiny of common men. Many ancient cities specialized in arcane research, but why did Kirkwall hide its efforts here? Why go to such great pains to keep it out of sight? Were they a cabal of renegade magisters? Or was this a special project of the archon? —Hidden in a small fissure near curious markings and signed, "The Band of Three"

Kirkwall once lived on the edge of the Tevinter Imperium and was home to nearly a million slaves. Stolen from elven lands or shipped from across the sea, all slaves fed the Imperium's unquenchable thirst for expansion. They worked in massive quarries and sweltering foundries that produced stone and steel for the Empire. The city's complicated past is not easy to forget, history having earmarked many corners of the stone city. A ship approaching the harbor spots the city's namesake: an imposing black wall. It is visible for miles, and carved into the cliff side are a pantheon of vile guardians representing the Old Gods. Over the years, the Chantry has effaced many of these profane sentinels, but it will take many more years to erase them all. Also carved into the cliff is a channel that permits ships into the city's interior. Flanking the channel are two massive bronze statues—the Twins of Kirkwall. The statues have a practical use. Kirkwall sits next to the narrowest point of the Waking Sea, and a massive chain net can be erected between the statues and the lighthouse, closing off the only narrow navigable lane. This stranglehold on sea traffic is jealously guarded by the ever-changing rulers of the city as the net trolls taxes, tolls, and extortions in from the sea. - Codex Entry: The City of Kirkwall

what is the walls of darkrown made of? wood?

[vigilskeep]

did you know that in one codex it's said that some of the tunnels in darktown lead so far down it just becomes the deep roads? insanity. do you think anders ever had to deal with an outbreak of the blight or darkspawn in darktown, like between acts or something?

WHAT??

[myfandomincolor]

Tired mage husband modern AU 1 of 3

[princehendir]

Spending a whole game hyping a character up as this awesome writer guy and having the excerpts of his most popular book that the player can find in the next game kinda really suck? Obviously great. But then after that putting in a second layer of punchline where after that you find some of his older more obscure nonfiction writing and it's really good? Immaculate.

[steampoweredstrawberry]

Vows and Vengeance spoilers (sort of), but what's Darktown's Deal about, Varric??? Is it Friendfiction, Varric??? Is it Anders friendfiction, Varric???

[extravagantliar]

kirkwall keeping rent low by having a systematic shift of living every ten years.

[kirkwallguy]

though tbf it's hard to make fun posts about how much anders sucks because in the notes people will be like "uh yeah and he murdered 100 orphans in the chantry explosion and hes abusive and he hates elves." so i have to just hang out in anders is wet kitty cat territory on main and keep the fun stuff to dms. which i think is why the he did nothing wrong overcorrection tends to happen generally

[movieposters1]

[herearedragons]

thinking about the headcanon that after the Arishok fight Meredith has leverage over Hawke due to them being outed as a mage.

thinking about Secret trying her hardest to win the duel without using any magic at all, and when she does fall back on it, using the subtlest spells she has, ones that you wouldn't visually recognize as magic unless you know where to look

(Meredith knows where to look. Meredith has been looking for a while. and even if she wasn't, a templar will always sense a mage reaching for the Fade)

...but maybe Secret does succeed. maybe she's careful enough and well liked enough that putting her away based on Templar Sense alone would stir too much unrest.

(but her friends don't have the same luxury)

(the healer who rushes to her side as soon as the Arishok falls, putting his hands over the gaping wound in her stomach. if Meredith searches his clinic, will she not find lyrium? will she not find a staff?)

(the Dalish elf who shoves the healer away, kneeling over Hawke, touching the side of her face with a bloodstained hand, chanting - or singing? - or praying? - something in Elven. if Meredith searches her home in the Alienage, will she not find things an elf definitely shouldn't have?)

(Secret knows.)

(Anders won't accept her invitation to move in - they're not on good enough terms - but Merrill does, happily. Secret frames it as a romantic gesture, and it is, but it's also to keep her safe. but she fears that it's not enough)

(Secret knows.)

(Secret knows that, in succeeding to protect herself, she has exposed her friends)

[pillows-and-blankets]

i hate bringing anders to the deep roads becuase imagine being some darktown resident who gets stabbed and the only healer in the entire city followed his crush into the actual ground

[vigilskeep]

remember when one of the main quests of da2 act 3 was you, regardless of where your loyalties lie, being made to chase down blood mages for meredith. like a templar hunting dog!

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

and the kirkwall crew bitchfight saga continues