Qunari
The Qunari, or "People of the Qun", are a society that governs the islands of Par Vollen and Seheron, as well as the settlement of Kont-aar in northern Rivain, and Qundalon in the Anderfels.
Members of the Qunari race who adhere to the teachings of the Qun can become "Qunari," but those other than the original giant race - that is, humans, elves, and dwarves - are called Viddathari within the Qun. Humans of Rivain and elven slaves of the Tevinter Imperium are especially susceptible to conversion, although it is not unknown for members of other groups to embrace the Qun.
History
Before their arrival in Thedas, the white-haired race was once part of the kossith predating the Qun. The earliest known kossith contact with Thedas was when a colony of them had settled in the southern Korcari Wilds in -410 Ancient. It was overrun by darkspawn during the First Blight, and it is presumably this colony which led to the darkspawn developing ogres. There were no other recorded sightings of the horned race for another 1000 years.
They returned as the Qunari, and arrived in Thedas en masse on warships, called dreadnoughts, in 6:30 Steel, from an unknown eastern land across the Northern Ocean. They once threatened to conquer all of the known world, but after several Exalted Marches during the Qunari Wars they have lost much of the conquered land. Since then, peace has been made since with every nation except the Tevinter Imperium, with whom they are still involved in a prolonged war for dominance of the north.
Demography and Population
The primary symbol used to represent the Qunari as a people is the House of Tides icon, meant to signify the inevitable triumph of the Qun. It symbolizes the Qunari triumvirate, the three pillars which govern all of Qunari society through its three primary leaders in all matters of body, mind, and soul.
The Triumvirate
The "body" is represented by the Arishok and the military. The "mind" is represented by the Arigena and the craftsmen. The "soul" is represented by the Ariqun and the priests. The Arishok is always male and leads the armies, the Arigena is always female and leads the craftsmen, whilst the Ariqun, whose gender varies, leads the priesthood. All three are the head of their respective "paths" and work in unison to complete the whole of Qunari society.Personal Identity
The Qunari do not have a concept of personal identity. Whilst they posses names, they do not use them, resorting to using titles rather than names to identify and present themselves. The names are in fact simply strings of genealogical information used only by the Tamassran for record-keeping. Some of the name-titles include Sten, Arishok, and Tallis. However, they do make frequent use of nicknames.Family Ties
Qunari have no "family units." They do not marry, choose partners, or even know to whom they are related. A father's role ends at conception; a mother's ends at birth. A Qunari's "family" consists of his or her peers. Qunari usually do not associate mating with love. They do have the capacity to love, even having friends and forming emotional bondes with one another; however, they simply do not have sexual intercourse with each other to express it. If they do, then they are sent to be re-educated by the Ben-Hassrath. If a child is produced, the same thing happens as with all other Qunari children: it is sent to be raised by the Tamassrans, evaluated, and assigned a job. Qunari do not waste resources unnecessarily, people included. Qunari have been bred for specific roles for a very long time. Parentage is no longer the issue, more like pedigree. However, breeding does not determine a Qunari's assigned task. If a Qunari was bred to be a soldier but turns out to be more intellectual, the Tamassrans may move him or her into the priesthood, researching weapons technology, or the Ben-Hassrath to police the populace, depending on what roles need to be filled by someone with their specific traits.Magic
The Qunari call their own mages Saarebas, which means "a dangerous thing" in Qunlat. As the Qunari believe that mages are ultimately unable to master themselves, each saarebas is entrusted to an Arvaarad, who bears a control rod. The Qunari do not blame them for their "defective" and dangerous nature, so frequently pity and honor saarebas, for lack of a better word. In practice, they are treated little better than attack dogs: they are leashed, shackled, collared, and their mouths are sewn shut. Should they be found practicing forbidden magic, their tongues are cut out to prevent them from corrupting others. The penalty for leaving their karataam is death, as they are assumed to have been corrupted by demons. The Qunari view this sacrifice, this selflessness - however unwilling - as the greatest virtue of the Qun. Lacking proper training, saarebas are essentially hedge mages, which does not preclude the Qunari from usage of saarebas forces in warfare.Outsiders and Converts
The Qunari view other nations as inferiors, kabethari - literally, "those who need to be taught" - who are to be conquered and "enlightened", i.e. converted to the Qun. In the newly subdued areas, they dismantle families: children are torn away from their parents and raised as Qunari, while adults are sent to "learning" (labor) camps for re-education, performed by the Ben-Hassrath. The latter appear to be reasonable if an individual doesn't resist their severe teachings, and a new convert, or viddathari, may take a high position in the Qunari society. In fact, it is possible for a human, elven or dwarven viddathari to become Ariqun, Arigena or Arishok should they show the merit for the role. However, this is naturally less likely than a Qunari taking the role, given their far greater numbers in the Qun. Refusal to cooperate is seen as illness to be cured, and those who resist are taken to the Viddathlok, temples dedicated to healing. What happens later is not quite clear, but it is known that the Qunari use a substance called qamek to turn them into mindless laborers forced into indentured servitude or sent to mines or construction camps. Some would return, changed in profound ways, some would perish of exhaustion or starvation and some would be slain.Basalit-an
The Qunari call outsiders bas - meaning "thing" - and consider them unfortunate beings who, however, have a potential to grow if the Qun's wisdom is imparted to them. The best an outsider can hope for among the Qunari is to be considered a basalit-an - "worthy of respect." A basalit-an is a worthy foe, and one that can be negotiated with to an extent, but still bas regardless. Only a rare few are known to have been named basalit-an. These include:- Warden-Commander Kallian Tabris | Named by her companion Sten during the Fifth Blight.
- Garrett Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall | Named by the Arishok prior to the First Battle of Kirkwall.
- King Alistair Theirin of Ferelden | Named by the new Arishok in 9:38 Dragon.
Military
Antaam
Antaam, the Qunari army, is led by the Arishok. The Qunari army are the eyes, ears, legs, arms, and hands of the creature, everything that one needs to interact with the world, and so most Qunari encountered by Thedosians belong to the military. The Beresaad are a military division that serve as the "the vanguard of the Qunari people," branching beyond Qunari lands to find answers to the Arishok's questions. All Qunari are given a tool which signifies their role in Qunari society; for soldiers, this tool is always a weapon of some kind. In the case of soldiers, at least, to lose this weapon brands the owner as soulless and one who is to be executed on sight by the Antaam. These items are held in high regard, and upon the owner's death, the Qunari may take the item to honor the fallen individual. In the Qunari society, females cannot be soldiers. Transgender female-to-male Qunari are welcome in the military however, and are referred to as Aqun-Athlok.Technological Level
The Qunari are more technologically advanced than the rest of Thedas, with the exception of the dwarves. Their capital city of Qunandar is famous for great domes and aqueducts, their architecture likened to beehives.
The Qunari cannons and dreadnoughts - or "floating fortresses," massive wooden ships - allowed them to sweep across northern Thedas and advance far into mainland within ten years from their arrival on the continent. The allied nations relied heavily on the Circle of Magi to counter their cannons and on the Felicisima Armada to counter their fleet.
The Qunari have developed a deadly poison, saar-qamek which instills madness in the victim before eventually killing them. This poison can be inhaled or put on blades to affect a target's bloodstream, however there is at least one antidote that can be taken preemptively that will reduce or outright neutralize the poison's effects.
They have also developed an explosive powder, gaatlok that is safer than lyrium-based dwarven explosives. Its formula is a secret they carefully guard.
There are rumors that Inquisitor Merai Lavellan acquired a version of the gaatlok formula in 9:44 Dragon.
Religion
The Qun is the religion of the Qunari, though it is closer to a philosophy than a full-fledged religion. It governs every part of Qunari life, and even the governing structure is dictated by it. It gives every Qunari a defined and fixed place in their society, either as a soldier (part of the body), a craftsman (part of the mind), or a priest (part of the soul).
Reverence
The Qunari are known to hold dragons sacred. High dragons are called Ataashi, "glorious one" in Qunlat. Some of this comes from physical similarities, while some believe that the Tamassrans cultivate dragon blood within the Qunari, allowing some to tap into combat abilities similar to Reavers. This, however, does not translate into reverence, as most Qunari accept that dragons are savage creatures that have to be put down in order to establish civilization. It is said that before converting to the Qun, the horned race prayed to animist gods, but such practices were outlawed by the Qun, and thus it would be against the law to openly revere the dragons. The corpse of a Qunari is considered an insignificant husk that is no longer the individual that it once was, and thus is afforded no special treatment, rather disposed of in whatever manner is most practical. Instead, an object which they used to perform their job is collected; for example, warriors' swords are considered to be their souls.Trade & Transport
The Qunari reject private property. They also don't have currency, nor do they engage in direct bartering: they don't buy and sell things among one another. "Merchants" in Qunari cities have the job of making sure goods are distributed appropriately. They will however, trade with the rest of Thedas in a limited matter. To the Qunari, this trade is less a way to obtain goods as an opportunity to learn more about those who do not yet accept the Qun as law.
The Qunari actively work to improve methods of production via research and borrowing from conquered people and neighboring cultures. On the other hand, demands of the individuals are quite limited, as having "more houses and clothes" would mean more work to maintain them. In the countryside, Qunari houses are identical and arranged along perfectly orthogonal lines.
Education
Qunari society is based upon learning as well as military might. Few speak the common tongue that is used among Thedosians, and even fewer speak it well. For this reason, Qunari often keep quiet among foreigners, out of shame—in a culture that strives for perfection and mastery, to possess only a passable degree of skill is humiliating, indeed.
The Tamassrans wield a great deal of influence in Qunari society. As it is primarily a female gender role (as all administrative tasks are), this might lead an outsider to believe that their society is female-dominated. Qunari do not, however, look upon government in quite the same way. The brain could be said to rule the body, but so too does the heart, the lungs, the stomach. All are part of the greater whole.
The Tamassrans raise all the children, give them their general education, and evaluate them. Qunari are officially assigned their roles when they are twelve years old. The Tamassrans do conduct some tests, but nothing that requires a pencil. They also have something of a head start on the process, as they are the ones who control the Qunari selective breeding program.
Gender Roles
Qunari strongly believe that the genders are inherently and intuitively better at certain tasks. No matter how much aptitude and promise a male shows for management, he will never be considered as good at it as a female, therefore it would be considered inefficient and a waste of resources to place him in a role where a woman would serve better. Instead, the Tamassrans find another role that he shows aptitude for and will place him there instead. The same goes for females, most Qunari will find it odd if a female becomes a warrior. The odd, very rare exception is made however. A male Qunari will farm if he must, just as a female will fight, depending on the circumstance. The Qunari also have the concept of "Aqun-Athlok," which means "born as one gender but living as another". If a female shows sincere interest and outstanding talent at fighting, she will be considered male, regardless of her biological sex. For the Qunari, gender is a secondary trait compared to their duty to the Qun. There are fields like philosophy or sciences that make use of both genders, but even then, there is division by discipline. Men will do one kind of research and women another. The Ben-Hassrath also count both genders among their ranks, but they too are separated by specialization.
Type
Political, Triumvirate
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Official Languages
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments