"The short answer? Yes. Magic. The long answer...we are certain it is some manner of magic but- it happened so long ago? And when a Blight rolls through the continent it takes everything with it. Crops. People. Knowledge. They last years, decades sometimes- but this one in Fereldan? A single year. We were quick to squash it- so not much was lost comparatively speaking."

He lets his hands fall away, pulling his gloves back on to stave off the chill. "I am not certain how it is they came to be- but they come from underground, digging up the old gods and feeding them tainted blood- the dragons. Creating archdemons to guide them to the surface and sweep over the continent like a wave of fire, blood, and death."