Maker's History
introduction
Maker Is The god of the dominant religion in Thedas (the world that Dragon Age takes place in).The being that Andraste, the prophetess, claims to have received visions from and who she created the Chant of Light to spread his word.Believed by the Chantry to be all-powerful and the creator of everything, including humans, spirits, the Fade (the spiritual realm), and the physical world of Thedas. According to lead writer Mike Laidlaw the purpose of the Maker in the Dragon Age universe is to represent "faith", even in the unseen. There are many groups in Thedas that do not worship the Maker or follow the Chant of Light, including the Avvar Dalish Elves Qunari, Dwarves of Orzammar, and various dragon cults. The precise nature and motivations of the Maker are never made fully clear, leaving room for debate and speculation among characters like Morrigan and Leliana. Some doubt whether he truly exists at all.Some demons have claimed that the existence of the Golden City and the Maker himself are false, calling the Chant of Light "pedantic and foolish."is considered the Maker's bride by the Chantry, based on her reported visions of him early in her life and ministry.
Background
It is said that long ago, the Maker created the Fade as His first world. His first children were the spirits of the Fade, made in His own image. However, the Maker turned away from His first children, because while the spirits could alter their world at will, they lacked a soul and could only imitate what they saw, being unable to create or imagine anything new for themselves. Dissatisfied with the result, the Maker left the Fade behind, creating the world of Thedas instead and its inhabitants. He separated it from the first world by putting the Veil in between them, not realizing that His first children would be able to observe His new children and grow envious of them.
The children that populated this new realm had the spark of the divine within them, which pleased the Maker; according to the Chantry, the dwarves were not among His creations. While their world was more solid than that of the spirits, these creatures were able to imagine, and dream new things because of it. But then the Original Sin was committed: jealous spirits who would be the Old Gods whispered to the men of the new world from across the Veil, and turned them to the worship of themselves. After imprisoning the Old Gods underground, the Maker turned away from mankind, and departed from the Golden City. He despaired, for His first children had no urge to create and His second children created sin. But the Old Gods still whispered to men, and taught them blood magic. The magisters of the Tevinter Imperium used the knowledge of the Old Gods to enter the Golden City, committing the Second Sin. But they instead blackened the Golden City and were cast back to earth by the Maker, transforming them into ravenous monsters that corrupted all they touched: the first darkspawn. Much later on, Andraste managed to convince the Maker to forgive his creations, but Andraste was betrayed by her mortal husband Maferath, and burned at the stake. The Maker turned away from mankind once more.
As of the present day, the Maker has long since left the world. The Chantry teaches that one day, when the Chant of Light is sung from all the corners of the world, the Maker will finally return and transform the world into a paradise. Until that day, however, He only watches for those few who follow Andraste's teachings. When they die, the Maker brings them to his side. All others wander the Fade throughout eternity, forever lost to the Maker's sight. The Chantry says that they throw themselves to the "Void." The motive to create paradise in the world by spreading the Chant is often cited as the reason the Chantry called an Exalted March against the elves of the Dales, who refused to worship a 'human' god, or others against the Tevinter Imperium where the Chant has been deemed as corrupted in favor of their magister rulers to regain their leadership as in the old days before the first Blight.
Although a great many people believe in the Maker, there are also many who do not; the Chasind, the Avvar, the Dalish elves, the followers of the Qun, most dwarves and several dragon cults are some of the most obvious examples. Morrigan is prone to having elaborate philosophical discussions with Leliana on the matter, the Dalish struggle to maintain their worship of their pantheon of gods despite the danger it puts them in due to being outlawed in Andrastian lands, the Qunari are unyielding in their efforts to spread the teachings of their philosopher Koslun to what they deem "unenlightened" races plagued by chaos and lack of order, while non-surface dwarves are too mired in their old traditions of ancestor worship, and they simply don't care about the superstitions of humans and other races.
Justice claims that spirits do not know whether the Maker exists, and that demons do not care. He also suggests that the spirits who believe in the Maker may do so only because they saw Him in the dreams of mortals. Some demons have also claimed that the existence of the Golden City and the Maker is false, and deemed the Chant of Light as pedantic and foolish.
