Unique among Orlesian cities, Halamshiral has always been majority elven, built on the ruins of the Dalish capital after it was conquered. Here the elves were never confined to an alienage, but occupied most of the city, while it was humans who confined themselves to a smaller area. A decade ago now, Halamshiral was the location of an elven rebellion. The rebellion ended in Empress Celene's forces setting fire to the slums–which were most of the city, really. Only a few years later, thanks to the intervention of the Inquisition, the Empress' elven handmaid Briala was elevated to Marquise of the Dales, of which Halamshiral remains the seat. The Empress and the bulk of the Orlesian court spend each winter there; the Empress has insisted that practice continue, despite prominent and pervasive grumbling about the new Marquise.
The Halamshiral that Riftwatch arrives in now is not a ruin, but it isn't without scars, either. Between the dead and the exodus in the immediate aftermath of the purge, the elven population depleted significantly. And while the governance of Marquise Briala has drawn some elves back–including elves from elsewhere in Thedas, drawn to immigrate by the idea of an elven noble even if it means building a hut on top of ashes–even more have opted to settle elsewhere in her domain, in smaller villages further from the bad memories and human nobility and throngs of Chevaliers.
Two notable things have happened as a result. First, rebuilding has been slow. Especially given the war, there are few resources to spare for reconstructing burnt-out streets that have no one to live in them, and those few have been dedicated to the streets visitors are most likely to pass through on their way to and from the High Quarter–which has also expanded, as the nobility grabbed up some of the vacated land to expand their own homes or build new ones. And second, poorer Orlesian humans and foreign war refugees have begun moving into what were once exclusively elven neighborhoods to fill labor gaps and take advantage of cheap housing, though the demographic breakdown there is noticeably light on people (and men in particular) of fighting age. Those of them who brought their prejudices along with them are a source of tension with the elven population.
The Chevaliers who once terrorized the elves (and commoners of any race) now exercise a modicum of restraint–enough that even the worst bullies among them will try to make sure someone is doing something actually wrong, or that witnesses will at least claim they were, before they lash out. There are young graduates of the Academie who didn't have to go running around drunkenly killing elves as a graduation ritual and might even be the kind of people who wouldn't have done it if told to. Still: acab. The vibe in the city is noticeably better than it once was, in that regard, but the fact that a large percentage of Orlais' Chevaliers are engaged with the war rather than milling around with the citizenry is likely the primary reason.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Halamshiral that Riftwatch arrives in now is not a ruin, but it isn't without scars, either. Between the dead and the exodus in the immediate aftermath of the purge, the elven population depleted significantly. And while the governance of Marquise Briala has drawn some elves back–including elves from elsewhere in Thedas, drawn to immigrate by the idea of an elven noble even if it means building a hut on top of ashes–even more have opted to settle elsewhere in her domain, in smaller villages further from the bad memories and human nobility and throngs of Chevaliers.
Two notable things have happened as a result. First, rebuilding has been slow. Especially given the war, there are few resources to spare for reconstructing burnt-out streets that have no one to live in them, and those few have been dedicated to the streets visitors are most likely to pass through on their way to and from the High Quarter–which has also expanded, as the nobility grabbed up some of the vacated land to expand their own homes or build new ones. And second, poorer Orlesian humans and foreign war refugees have begun moving into what were once exclusively elven neighborhoods to fill labor gaps and take advantage of cheap housing, though the demographic breakdown there is noticeably light on people (and men in particular) of fighting age. Those of them who brought their prejudices along with them are a source of tension with the elven population.
The Chevaliers who once terrorized the elves (and commoners of any race) now exercise a modicum of restraint–enough that even the worst bullies among them will try to make sure someone is doing something actually wrong, or that witnesses will at least claim they were, before they lash out. There are young graduates of the Academie who didn't have to go running around drunkenly killing elves as a graduation ritual and might even be the kind of people who wouldn't have done it if told to. Still: acab. The vibe in the city is noticeably better than it once was, in that regard, but the fact that a large percentage of Orlais' Chevaliers are engaged with the war rather than milling around with the citizenry is likely the primary reason.