Dragon Age: The Calling

Dragon Age: The Calling is the second of two Dragon Age prequel novels. It follows some years after The Stolen Throne and two years after the death of Rowan, as alluded to at the end of the first book.

Ferelden is now a stable kingdom under the rule of King Maric, who has entered a malaise since Rowan died and feels that he is both a lousy king and an awful father. Loghain has become Teryn of Gwaren and his most trusted advisor, but grows more cold and bitter by the year. Maric is approached by the Grey Wardens, who want to be let back into Ferelden after centuries of exile.

Leading them is Genevieve, the Commander of the Grey from Orlais who wants to go into the Deep Roads and find her brother, the former Warden-Commander Bregan, which instantly sets Loghain to hating her and assuming they want only to overthrow Maric and reinstate Orlesian control. As there hasn't been a Blight in centuries, most people mistrust or actively hate the Wardens, but guided by a cryptic warning from Flemeth back during the events of The Stolen Throne Maric believes that the Wardens do herald a real danger and volunteers to join them and be their guide to Ortan Thaig in the Deep Roads.

A young warden named Duncan is assigned to be his assistant and bodyguard (and, if Maric learns "anything he shouldn't" about the order his intended killer) and they proceed. As it becomes clear that Genevieve is both obsessive and unstable, Bregan slowly is swayed to helping a mysterious darkspawn calling himself the Architect in wiping out most of both humanity and the darkspawn and forcing the survivors of both to becoming the same halfway-creature Grey Wardens become after the Calling, as he knows where the Old Gods, which the darkspawn are all compelled to find and unleash as an Archdemon, sleep.

As the Wardens and Maric travel underground, Genevieves instability begin to lead to casualties as Duncan tries to deny what he's seeing, as she is a sort of idol of his. Maric and an elven mage named Fiona begin to develop an intimacy that allows Maric to start forgiving himself for the past before Genevieve, too, is persuaded to join the Architect along with Utha, a "Silent Sister" of the dwarven race.

After a narrow escape from the Deep Roads in which all but Maric, Duncan and Fiona are killed, the trio are captured by Orlesian sympathizers allied with the Architect, Bregan and Genevieve who wish to use the Architect to destroy all of darkspawn and humanity with the sole exception of Orlais. After a fearsome battle with the darkspawn-augmented First Enchanter Remille, Loghain bursts in and Maric returns to the castle in Denerim.

Some time later, Duncan and Fiona return to Denerim when Logain is back in Gwaren. Duncan is second-in-command of the Wardens in Ferelden, and somehow Fiona has become immune to the Calling that eventually takes all other Wardens. She hands Maric their child, implied to be Alistair, and tells him to make him believe he has a dead human mother rather than let him realize he is a half-elf.

Not to be confused with those kids who sung "Wherever You Will Go" or the Survival Horror Video Game Calling.

Tropes used in Dragon Age: The Calling include:

A Lighter Shade of Grey: The Architect's plan for peace touches upon this.
Babies Ever After: Fiona introduces Maric to his newborn son in the epilogue.
Battle Couple: Julien and Nicolas. Such a badass couple
Big Damn Heroes: Subverted, Loghain and the Fereldans arrive after the fighting is mostly over.
Body Horror: What happens to Wardens who don't die at the Calling, when Fiona is possessed.
Bond One-Liner: "How's that for an insect?"
Bury Your Gays
Cain and Abel: Bregan and Genevieve. Subverted when she joins him. Double subverted when she turns on him after learning that the Architect seeks to force all of humanity to undergo the Joining. Triple subverted when the Architect drops a bridge on her before she can fight Bregan, causing Bregan to undergo a Heel Face Turn.
The Cassandra: Loghain's belief that the whole thing is a plot by Orlais to overthrow Maric is correct, although the Grey Wardens themselves are uninvolved.
Chekhov's Gun: The knife that Duncan steals from the First Enchanter.
Contrived Coincidence: Lampshaded.
The Corruption: The darkspawn spread a terrible plague that is weaponized by Remille and in a way, the Wardens.
Determinator: Deconstructed with Genevieve, whose stubbornness frequently endangers the team.
Family-Unfriendly Death: The Architect has a fire spell that eats its target. He uses this to kill Genevieve and severely injure Bregan when he turns on him shortly afterwards. Remille tries to use this on Duncan, but his obsidian dagger blocks it.
Face Heel Turn: Bregan. He is later joined by Genevieve and Utha.
Fatal Flaw: Although her intentions are good, Genevieve is revealed to be a poisonous person who drags people down with her.
Hannibal Lecture: The Calling is when the Old Gods talk to a Warden's mind.
Heroic Dog: Hafter.
Heroic Sacrifice: Julien and Kell.
Honor Before Reason: Why Maric saves Fiona and the Wardens rather than stay in his dream where Katriel is his living queen, and Rowan lived and married Loghain. Although being the fact that it was all an illusion, how much reason would be involved in staying is debatable.
Ho Yay / Relationship Reveal: Julien and Nicolas are a pair of Grey Warden warriors with an intense friendship. They spend most of their time together, one is never mentioned without the other, etc. When Julien dies, Nicolas flies into a rage and is distraught. He picks himself up and keeps going, but when a Lotus-Eater Machine brings Julien back to him, he opts to stay in the dream rather than return to reality..
Ice Queen: Genevieve
Let Them Die Happy: The characters allow Nicolas to remain within the Lotus Eater Machine so he can be with Julian.
Lotus Eater Machine: Like in the game, a Demon traps the protagonists in their own dreams. Most people have pleasant ones, in fact so pleasant that one of them never leaves, but Fiona...
Nothing Is Scarier: The Wardens are more freaked out by the fact that the darkspawn aren't constantly at their backs.
Not So Different: The Architect literally says this to Bregan.
Oh Crap: When Kell spots the Dragon.
Plucky Girl: Fiona.
Redemption Equals Death: Genevieve and Bregan.
Shoo the Dog: Kell tries to do this to Hafter before his Heroic Sacrifice. It doesn't work.
Spirit Advisor: Katriel returns from the dead to help Maric when he and the Grey Wardens are trapped inside The Fade.
Smug Snake: The First Enchanter. You know you're a douche when even a darkspawn emissary thinks you're a backstabbing prick.
Start of Darkness: Bregan.
Tragic Hero: Genevieve and Nicolas.
Tsundere: Fiona.
Utopia Justifies the Means: The Architect's plan to achieve peace between humans and the darkspawn.
Villain Exit Stage Left: During the fight with the First Enchanter, the Architect and Utha manage to escape.
Wandering Minstrel
What Could Have Been: The Demon gives everyone a visions of the ways their lives could have turned out.