The Fortress of Adamant

Of all the decisions we Grey Wardens were forced to make over the lean years, withdrawing from the fortress of Adamant was perhaps the most difficult. It had been built to stand as a bastion against the darkspawn spilling out from the Abyssal Rift—a symbol of how we had done the impossible and pushed those creatures back into the shadows where they belonged. We kept the land safe from further encroachment, but as each new age dawned, memories of our sacrifice became a little fainter. The entire Western Approach had become a wasteland, and thus the expense of maintaining the fortress became harder and harder to justify. There were no more griffons to fill its weyrs, too few Wardens to man its battlements, too many good men and women killed by demons creeping through the thin Veil... Each visit of the Warden-Commander made it more and more apparent that Adamant had instead become a symbol of our decline. Many said that, even if darkspawn did still emerge from the chasm, who would they threaten other than the Grey Wardens themselves?

So in the dawn of the Blessed Age, we sealed the fortress's mighty gates. We left the great griffon statues to tarnish and wear in the blowing sand, retreating to Montsimmard with a sense of loss and shame. I recently returned with a small expedition to retrieve supplies left behind and was surprised to see it still standing. The dwarves did well by us, and I suspect Adamant will remain for ages to come... but should the Order ever return, they will find it difficult to resurrect this place. Only spirits roam its halls now, alongside the memories of those who gave their lives to protect us all from darkness.

- From the journal of Veldin, Grey Warden of Orlais, 8:18 Blessed