Orlais

The Orlesian Empire, or simply Orlais, is currently the largest and the most powerful nation in Thedas. It was founded by Kordillus Drakon I and its capital, Val Royeaux, serves as the Chantry's seat of power and home of the Divine. Orlais is ruled by an Emperor or Empress.

Settlements

 * Val Royeaux – capital of Orlais; seat of the White Spire, the Grand Cathedral, the headquarters of the Seekers of Truth, the Imperial Palace, and the University of Orlais
 * Arlesans
 * Churneau
 * Ghislain – location of a Circle of Magi
 * Halamshiral – former capital of the Dales and home of the imperial family's Winter Palace
 * Jader – nearest major Orlesian city to Ferelden; like Denerim and many other cities, it claims to be the birthplace of Andraste
 * Lac d'Argent – village on the path from Halamshiral to Jader; Empress Celene passed there briefly during her escape from Gaspard's armies
 * Lydes – formerly ruled by Duke Remache de Lydes
 * Mont-de-glace
 * Montfort – ancestral home of the De Montfort family
 * Montsimmard – headquarters of the Orlesian Grey Wardens and a Circle of Magi
 * Sahrnia
 * Salmont
 * Savrenne – once ruled by Duke Yvon, brother to Emperor Alphonse Valmont
 * Serault
 * Val Chevans
 * Val Chevin
 * Val Colline
 * Valence – a small village on the Waking Sea
 * Val Falaise
 * Val Firmin - a large town near the Dales. The ancestral home of the de Chalons family, still held by a Comte de Chalons.
 * Val Fontaine
 * Val Foret
 * Val Gamord – town near the Gamordan peaks; ruled by Marquise Effiloche Bouffon
 * Val Henar
 * Val Montaigne – once ruled by Duke Stephan, brother of Emperor Alphonse Valmont; ruled by Duchess Yvonne Blanchard in 9:41 Dragon
 * Velun – a small town
 * Verchiel – ruled by Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons
 * Ville Montevelan – first human settlement on the Dales following the end of the Exalted March against the Dales

Fortresses

 * Abandoned Chateau
 * Adamant Fortress
 * Andoral's Reach
 * Garotte – a keep in the Nahashin Marshes

Regions

 * Alyons – a region which neighbors Serault
 * The Arbor Wilds – a large and untouched forest in the south of Orlais, where ancient elven ruins still remain undisturbed
 * Arl Dumat
 * The Blasted Hills – on the border of the Anderfels
 * Lake Celestine – a lake located in the Heartlands of central Orlais
 * Claose – a land of fertile valleys near Serault
 * The Dales
 * Emerald Graves
 * Emprise du Lion
 * Exalted Plains
 * Deauvin Flats – a region with good hunting grounds
 * Ezoire – described as a lofty mountain domain
 * Forbidden Oasis
 * Fields of Ghislain – on the border of Nevarra
 * Frostback Mountains
 * The Heartlands – the region between Lake Celestine and the shores of the Waking Sea, well known for its excellent wine and marvelous estates; it is perhaps the richest place outside Val Royeaux
 * The Hissing Wastes
 * Hunterhorn Mountains – with the Gamordan Peaks in the south
 * Nahashin Marshes
 * Serault – a struggling Marquisate on the edge of Orlais
 * The Western Approach – with the Abyssal Rift
 * Ylenn Basin – a region south of the Imperial Highway between Montsimmard and Verchiel, a beautiful place of walnut groves, hollyhocks and fifth rate meaderies