Dragon Age: The Silent Grove is a six-issue heroic fantasy comic book limited series set in the Dragon Age universe. The first in a series of Dragon Age visual media to be published by Dark Horse Comics, it was originally an exclusive digital release between February and May 2012. The series was primarily written by David Gaider, with Alexander Freed as scriptwriter and artwork by Chad Hardin.
The Silent Grove takes place following the events of the 2011 video game Dragon Age II and features appearances from major series characters Alistair, Varric Tethras, and Isabela. The story follows their exploits in the land of Antiva in search of answers to the truth behind the disappearance of Alistair's father and predecessor as King of Ferelden, Maric Theirin.
The Silent Grove has received some praise for its story, artwork and pacing, though other reviewers are less enthusiastic about the characterization of its protagonists. There is consensus among reviewers that readers who are already fans of the Dragon Age video game series would get the most enjoyment out of The Silent Grove.
Plot
The events of the comic take place after the destruction of the Kirkwall Chantry at the end of Dragon Age II, but before the ending of Dragon Age: Asunder where a mage rebellion has erupted across Thedas.
Alistair Theirin, the ruling King of Ferelden, investigates the whereabouts of his father, Maric Theirin, who is presumed dead after he was said to be lost at sea years ago. Enlisting the aid of the dwarven merchant prince Varric Tethras and his associate, a pirate known as Isabela, his search for evidence leads him to Antiva, a land where merchant guilds and deadly assassins hold sway. After meeting an Antivan prince named Claudio Valisti, one of the leaders of the infamous guild of assassins known as the Antivan Crows, The trio break into a prison controlled by the Crows to investigate rumors that Maric is supposedly held as a prisoner there, where they learn from an adjacent prisoner that Maric was broken out long ago by a witch known as "The Beast of the Tellari swamps". Escaping the prison, Alistair reveals to his companions that it was Claudio who sent Alistair evidence the Crows had held Maric, spurring him into action.
The trio travel to the Teleri swamp region, where they encounter a large high dragon and the witch Yavana. Revealing herself to be a daughter of Flemeth, the Fereldan Witch of the Wilds, Yavana's claims that her mother saved Maric life long ago on the condition that he submits himself to her after he has restored his kingdom and his children had come of age. She hints that Maric's bloodline is special and is somehow connected to the fate of the world's dragons. The group is attacked by Antivan forces as soon as they depart Yavana's domain; Alistair is taken captive by Claudio, who reveals that he had manipulate the group as bait to find Yavana's sanctum, the "Silent Grove". Isabela and Varric retreat to confer with Yavana, then attacks the Antivan camp to mount a rescue. Isabela personally kills Claudio before Alistair can get an answer out of him about Maric's fate, though Yavana uses her magic to conjure Claudio's spirit and forces him to divulge the identity of his patron, a Tevinter magister named Aurelius Titus.
Yavana leads the group back to her sanctum, and bids Alistair to follow her down into a large cavern full of crystalline eggs. She explains to Alistair that this is a place where many dragons gather to hibernate and her purpose is to preserve dragonkind. As a result of her efforts in reawakening the dragons that did not sleep in their sleep, dragons have reemerged from near extinction to a sustainable population during the current century or "age". Yavana persuades Alistair to acquiesce to her request and awaken the last of the Great dragons, but Alistair responds by running her through with his sword and blames her and her kind for the recent tragedies that plague Ferelden. Unharmed by Yavana's dragons due to the nature of his bloodline, Alistair departs the sanctum with his companions and travels to the Tevinter Imperium to continue his quest.