Continuation of The Grey Wardens :)

The Second Blight and the Chantry

In 1:5 Divine, approximately 200 years since the slaying of Dumat, the archdemon Zazikel rose to lead the Second Blight.  The entire city of Nordbotten -- the very place where the Grey Wardens first appeared on the battlefield -- was destroyed before a defense could be organized.  The Tevinter Imperium withdrew from the Anderfels, abondoning it in an attempt to protect central Tevinter.  The Anderfels area was in much trouble, and even the Grey Warden headquarters in Weisshaupt came under siege by the darkspawn.

Fortunately, the armies of the recently founded Orlesian Empire under the command of Emperor Kordillus Drakon I proved both motivated and capable of standing up to the Blight.  After several victories against the darkspawn, Drakon's army lifted the siege of Weisshaupt in 1:33 Divine and proceeded to save the rest of the Anderfels together with the Wardens.  The Anderfels joined the Orlesian Empire, and the Grey Wardens were suffciently impressed by Drakon's actions to convert to the Chantry of Andraste.

In the following decades, the Blight was again slowly pushed back and the Grey Wardens took command of the war.  The archdemon Zazikel was finally confronted and slain by the Grey Wardens in 1:95 Diving at Starkhaven in the Free Marches.

The Third Blight

The Third Blight began with the awakening of Toth in 3:10 Towers, roughly 200 years after the last Blight.  The initial darkspawn attacks occured in central Thedas in Tevinter and Orlais, but even though the hordes were larger than those previously encountered, a rapidly-organized defense led by the Grey Wardens managed to hold them back.  The darkspawn started to focus on the more lightly defended Free Marches while Tevinter and Orlais tried to remain neutral, but pressure from the Grey Wardens eventually brought them into the war.  The darkspawn horde was crushed at Hunter Fell in the Free Marches in 3:25 Towers, and Toth was slain by the Grey Wardens.  The Third Blight remained a relatively short event compared to previous Blights.

The Fourth Blight

Not much is told about the Grey Wardens for another 200 years, when Andoral awakening and the Fourth Blight began in 5:12 Exalted.  Most of the damage was to the east of traditional Grey Warden territory, in the Free Marches, Antiva, and Rivain, but the Anderfels was also attacked and Hossberg, not far from Weisshaupt, came under siege.  This time, both Tevinter and Orlais were lightly attacked and refused to send aid.  The hero of the fourth Blight was an elven Grey Warden named Garahel, who first led the liberation of Hossberg in 5:20 Exalted and then managed to gather an army from the Free Marches to support the Grey Wardens.  Garahel's army marched north and faced the main horde in 5:24 Exlated at Ayesleigh, where Garahel was lost after personally slaying Andoral.

After the fourth Blight, the influence of the Grey Wardens waned considerably.  It would be 400 years before the fifth Blight, and many started to think it would never happen.  Although remaining an eternal threat to the dwarves, darkspawn were rarely seen by surface people, and the Grey Wardens were slowly dismissed as a relic of bygone, darker time best left forgotten.

In the vicinity of 7:10 Storm, there was an awkward incident in Ferelden with the local Warden-Commander -- Sophia Dryden, previously a rival for the crown of Ferelden --  becoming involved in a planned coup de'etat.  The result was fighting between Grey Wardens and the royal army, the loss of Commander Sophia and her command at Soldier's Peak, and King Arland banishing the order from Ferelden -- although it became a close thing with the Grey Wardens; a force of less than one hundred, nearly defeating the entire Ferelden army.  The Grey Wardens were allowed back in Ferelden by King Maric in 9:10 Dragon and they were able to begin a slow rebuilding, but by 9:30 Dragon, their presence remained light and the order was not well known.