Dragon Age: Origins Environments Update

BioWare has added a new “environments” section to their official Dragon Age: Origins website, and the fortress of Ostagar starts it off. Concept art and the following description included:

Representing the furthest point of encroachment by the ancient Tevinter Imperium into the barbarian lands of the southeast, the fortress of Ostagar was once one of the most important defensive Imperial holdings south of the Waking Sea. It stood at the edge of the Korcari Wilds and watched for any signs of invasion by the barbarians today known as the Chasind Wilders. Straddling a narrow pass in the hills, the fortress needed to be by-passed for the Wilders to reach the fertile lowlands to the north and proved to be exceedingly difficult for the Wilders to attack because of its naturally defensible position.

Like most Imperial holdings in the south, Ostagar was abandoned after Tevinter’s collapse following the first Blight. It was successfully sacked by the Chasind Wilders and then, as the Chasind threat dwindled following the creation of the modern Ferelden nation, fell to ruin completely. It has remained unmanned for four centuries, though most of the walls still stand — as does the tall Tower of Ishal, named after the great archon that ordered its construction — and Ostagar remains a testament to the magical power of the Imperium that created it.