Under Thedas stirs the constant threat of an end to all things: The Blight. Twisted creatures called darkspawn surface in impossible numbers under the command of a blighted high dragon known as an Archdemon, launching an all out war on anything that isn't tainted. Five times in history has this happened. Rach time the people of Thedas narrowly avoided destruction with the aid of the legendary Grey Wardens.
Why Blights happen is debated. The prevailing belief is that the Archdemons are Tevinter Old Gods, trying to regain power after their home in the Fade was corrupted by the ancient nations magisters. The Wardens believe defeating the remaining Archdemons means stopping future Blights.
Recent evidence of darkspawn capable of speech and rational thought has complicated theories surrounding the Blight's purpose. Only a few fringe scholars argue the point, as the death and destruction a Blight brings tend to render the question of "why" irrelevant.
The Wardens teach that the catalyst of a Blight is the awakening of an Old God lurking somewhere down below. When the darkspawn find and wake one, the Old God is corrupted, creating an Archdemon.
Few people have ever seen an Archdemon. What little is known about them comes from the Wardens. They say an Archdemon is a fearsome creature with gnarled teeth, rotting purple scales, and bent wings. Despite its monstrous appearance, the dragon is believed to be quite intelligent.
The call of an Archdemon can be heard by darkspawn over great distances. Wardens may hear it too, one clear signal that a Blight is looming. What the call is exactly has proven hard to define. In a Warden's ears, it sounds like strange music, an intoxicating melody that grows louder and more appealing as corruption advances. Darkspawn are consumed by its draw and can think of nothing else but uncovering it's source.
Dumat: Dragon of Silence. The discovery of this powerful Archdemon began the First Blight. Dumat was killed in the battle of the Silent Plains.
Zazikel: Dragon of Chaos. The Archdemon of the Second Blight brought unimaginable destruction before his death at the Battle Starkhaven. As an Old God, Zazikel represented freedom.
Toth: Dragon of Fire. Toth was killed in the Battle of Hunter Fell, ending the Third Blight.
Andoral: Dragon of Slaves. Andoral's awakening began the Fourth Blight. The dragon was killed by Garahel at the Battle of Ayesleigh.
Urthemiel: Dragon of Beauty. Urthemiel awoke in Ferelden prompting the Fifth Blight.
Razikale: Dragon of Mystery. Currently sleeping.
Lusacan: Dragon of Night. Currently sleeping.
The darkspawn are twisted shadows of humans, elves, and other common races. They normally remain below the surface, free to reign over expansive stretches of the long abandoned dwarven Deep Roads. Great numbers of darkspawn lurk in the deepest caverns and tunnels.
Darkspawn are normally not very organized. Through their constant presence in the Deep Roads between Blights has pushed the dwarves to the edge of extinction, it is only under the leadership of an Archdemon that the darkspawn pose any significant threat aboveground. Unified, a darkspawn army is capable of unfathomable devastation.
The Chantry teaches that the first darkspawn came for what's know as the "second sin". They were the Tevinter magisters who touched the Golden City. Upon stepping into the godly realm, the magisters turned it black. Their sin created the taint and they were transformed into the first darkspawn. As they carried the taint to others, more darkspawn were created.
When a person is tainted, their body and mind waste away until they are little more than a snarling ghoul. Darkspawn are born to broodmothers: female of a given race ravaged and tainted by the darkspawn to become horrid creatures. A broodmother will birth thousands of darkspawn in her lifetime, all variants of her former race. Elven broodmothers give birth to shrieks. Dwarven broodmothers spawn genlocks. Humans birth hurlocks and kossith birth ogres.
A bloated broodmother will give birth to a large litter at once, between twenty and fifty children. They emerge from her giant womb as toddlers, often already already able to walk, and develop rapidly during their first few weeks on their own. Young darkspawn are expected to complete with each other to survive. They will try to kill each other, perhaps a natural instinct. This serves to thin out the weaker offspring.
Occasionally one young darkspawn will be so much more powerful than the rest that it kills the entire brood. This darkspawn is called an alpha. They are generally, taller, stronger, or much more intelligent than the rest of their kind. Alphas will inevitably take command of weaker darkspawn.
Some darkspawn, including a few alphas, may prove adept at magic. These darkspawn, dubbed by the Wardens as emissaries, tend to only show themselves on the surface during Blights. The spells they cast are rooted in a strange form of blood magic.
While it is true that most darkspawn do not speak beyond grunts and hisses, and subsist in unfathomably filthy, desperate conditions, it would be wrong to call them stupid. The darkspawn possess a cunning that must not be discounted. They are skilled on the battlefield, capable of sophisticated tactics. They can build crude structures, and craft powerful, albeit ugly, weapons and armor. Genlocks are particularly good at construction, a remnant of their dwarven origin.
Though common darkspawn don't speak a language by any surface standards, they are able to understand each other. A cry of alarm at the sight of an intruder is always understood.
When there isn't an Archdemon to direct the darkspawn, the chain of command breaks down. Alphas become tyrants, splitting the horde amongst themselves and fighting for dominance.
Their lack of cohesion is what keeps them threatening anyone but those who venture close enough to turn their attention away from infighting.
There are rare exceptions of hyperintelligent darkspawn, capable of advanced thought and speech rivaling any human, elf or dwarf.
One such darkspawn is the @The Architect, who was able to ignore the call of the Old God's, lead other darkspawn twords a common cause, and even ponder the purpose of his twisted race. He once tried and failed to infect all Thedas with the taint in the hope of finding a middle ground with the darkspawn. It was his vain hope that peace could exist between the two. When this failed @The Architectsought a fruitless bid to end future Blights through harvesting Grey Warden blood. He hoped that administreting it to all darkspawn would sever their connection to any remaining Archdemons.
Another intelligent darkspawn is the ancient Corypheus, one of the most powerful and wise ever encountered. He is believed to be one of the ancient magisters who entered and corrupted the Golden City. The Wardens sealed him away in a prison using blood magic.
When the First Blight hit, it lasted almost two centuries, many believed it was the end of days. Entire generations lived and died warring with the darkspawn.
When the Blight was at its most bleak, the Grey Wardens were born. The Order was founded at Weisshaupt Fortress in the Anderfels. The humans, elves, and dwarves were all experienced darkspawn killers who abandoned any flags and titles to end the Blight. In order to do this, they took extreme measures; drinking the blood of darkspawn allowed them to sense their foes' presence and hear the call of the Archdemon. Mounting great flying griffons as steeds, the Wardens turned the tides. They pushed into the heart of the darkspawn front and slew the Archdemon, an act thought impossible.
The victory solidified the Order as protectors of Thedas. The Wardens have persisted for ages at the front of all five Blights, ever vigilant in the periods of peace in between.