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If you have played “Dragon Age: Origins,” then you know what this is. The Codex is a constantly updated compilation of the most important pieces of information that you have learned in the story so far, like an in-story Wikipedia. It also contains lore-bombs and detailed explanations of concepts introduced in the story. Come back here often to refresh your memory and to learn more about The Safaris’ universe!

SPOILER ALERT: If you are new to The Safaris, it’s recommended that you skip the Codex for now since it may contains spoilers. You were warned!

Alex Safari – Brother of Phil Safari who died in a childhood accident. This incident is what first brought Phil to Athena’s attention.

Ares – Greek God of War who gravitates toward violence and brute strength. Ares is generally impulsive and hot tempered. He is the architect of Project Kratisto, a sinister rival Hero project of which there is currently scant information. He and Athena are not on the best of terms.

Athena Parthenos – Greek Goddess of War and Wisdom who prefers to use reason and strategy in battle. Athena is generally calm and levelheaded. She has been Phil Safari’s guardian since childhood and the one who launches Phil on his odyssey in hopes of making him a Hero. Athena and Hades are good friends.

Although she has reservations, Athena has become somewhat receptive toward the New Age religion in recent years.

Evie Ryan – A girl that Phil Safari “rescues” from a bar. She is a counselor for troubled teens. She and Phil hit it off immediately. Her intuition helps her find her way in life and leads her to save Phil’s life. Afterward, she helps Phil sort through his life and ultimately accept his calling to be a Hero. Phil asks her to become the first member of his team.

Hades – the “Godfather of Souls” - Greek God of the Underworld, overseer the Afterworlds system, and resident genius of Olympus. For some reason, he has decided to take the form of a stumpy, gruff, mad scientist, and he spends most of his time in his basement laboratory. Hades claimed to have created mankind, but in reality, he fabricated the story for the benefit of the gods.

As a scientist, he is naturally wary of religion. He is disturbed that his theory of souls bears a striking resemblance to New Age teachings - a fact that he has only confided to his good friend, Athena.

Jake Sunwell – Phil Safari’s friend who often talks to him about video games and sports. He recently lost his job and spends most of his time playing World of Warcraft. He is a self-professed “glue guy.” His penchant for colorful language is the primary reason that the podcast version is rated “explicit!”

Phil O. Safari – the “Philosopher-Hero” - On his 21st birthday, he was charged with the Heroic Task: touch 1,000 lives, or else! This odyssey led him to a government job at the C3PO that almost drove him insane. He rescues Evie Ryan from a bar, and she in turn rescues him from the brink. Evie helps Phil sort through his life and ultimately accept his calling to be a Hero.

Phil is not your average guy. Apparently, he has no Limiter, which means he is capable of unlimited creative growth and lifespan. He also possesses an unknown power which first manifested itself in connection with the death of his brother Alex. This accident is what first drew Athena’s attention to Phil, and she tabbed him to be her Heroic Candidate. For the Tournament, Phil’s power may allow him to recruit team members from creative realms inaccessible to other Candidates, namely books, movies, and games.

Satan – Also known as Lucifer, the Fallen One. The story goes that he refused God’s command to bow to man and was cast into the Chaotic Void as a result. He has been building an army for eons and intends to wreck havoc on world upon his return. His armies have broken through in the Greek realm, but so far, he has not found a way back to Earth proper. Apparently he grows ever more powerful because humans keep adding to his prowess with each new tale.

Zaris Klim - Phil Safari’s friend who occasionally talks to him about books and movies. Little is known about Zaris at this point, other than his penchant for sarcasm.

Zeus – King of the Greek Gods, father of Ares, Athena, and brother of Hades. When angered, he can cause severe lightning storms on Earth. He originally claimed to be Phil’s father, but this is later revealed to be untrue. Zeus can be impulsive and unpredictable, and he often plays favorites. Athena (and by extension, Phil) has benefited greatly from this favoritism, but Zeus’ primary concern is the survival of the Greek Gods. As his faith in Phil wanes, he authorizes Ares’ rival Hero project, “Kratisto,” to proceed.

Concepts

Angels – Entities created by God to eradicate demons on Earth and to repair tears in space-time caused by the Chaotic Winds. The only place they refuse to go is the Gateway of the Fallen.

Afterworlds – There are many Afterworlds. After death, souls are usually allocated to the Afterworlds according to their religious faith or culture. Nonbelievers are allocated as necessary to balance the Afterworlds. An accounting system keeps track of all of this, and Hades oversees the entire system.

Demons – The Chaotic Winds occasionally strain the human realm enough to tear the fabric of space-time, allowing chaos to seep in. This creates aberrant events on Earth that humans attribute to “demons.” Angels hunt such demons and fix the tears.

Faith – Trust or belief in something you cannot easily verify. It does not have to be religious in nature. If he is to be the Hero, Phil must learn to trust people and the natural order of things. When you have faith in the system, coincidences and synchronicity are good things, not things to be suspicious of.

Free will – Is it really free? What if free will was already predetermined? Phil has such a conversation with Athena, but she responds that no one knows the answer to that question. All one can do is act as if he or she has free will. Phil finds this answer unsatisfactory but lets it slide for now.

Ghosts – Souls that refuse to leave Earth may exist as ghosts for a time. However, once they drain their energy supply, they must make their way to an Afterworld or perish.

Glue guys – Jacks-of-all-trade, people who value good teamwork rather than seek individual accolades. Unfortunately, according to Jake Sunwell, such contributions are often under-appreciated and overlooked.

Limiter – The gods feared than man might become too powerful, so they installed this safeguard in humans to limit their abilities, growth, and lifespans. The following is an excerpt from Hades’ treatise, The Fundamental Principles of Limiters:

Note - Laypeople call it “The Limiter,” but really it should be “limiters” since there are really two that work independently of each other. But whatever…

Lifespan – Human cells theoretically have unlimited growth potential, but I have effectively limited this by restricting the amount of telomerase in the system. Telomerase is necessary for healthy cell division, and it decreases with each division. As the number of divisions approaches the “Hayflick limit,” the growing number of imperfections results in aging and greater cancer risk.

Creativity – Humans need creativity to help us order chaos, but entrusting them with too much divine power is also dangerous. Still, I am curious to see what humans are capable of creating if they are not unduly inhibited. As a result, I have installed a reasonably generous cap, and creativity is subject to diminishing returns. The more creative the idea, the harder it is to realize. Most human thinkers are pedestrian, but a few brilliant ones have impressed me, including Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. And I am not easily impressed…

As humans continue to evolve and to push the boundaries of science and technology, they are rapidly approaching the Limiter. Phil is the only known example of Human 2.0: a person without a Limiter.

Love’s glow – When someone is in love, he or she is often said to “glow.” There is some scientific basis for this. According to Hades, when two people are in love, they form a link, pooling their energies together. Since each now has access to a larger pool, both their energy signatures appear elevated compared to before, and each person may feel and act livelier as a result. However, this glow is psychological. It does not manifest itself visually, except in the peculiar case of Phil and Evie. Hades is investigating this phenomenon.

Philosopher-Hero – A term that Athena uses to describe her ideal hero. Plato believed that only a philosopher understood “the good” well enough to become a wise and just ruler, and he dubbed this ideal ruler the “Philosopher-King.” Similarly, Athena believes that a philosopher would make the best hero because of the knowledge and wisdom that he or she has acquired.

Purpose of Man – According to Athena, the gods created man to be the caretakers of Creation and to worship the gods. Phil cynically believes that man was created merely to be a glorified algorithm to sort and order chaos for the gods.

Relationship between gods and men – Did the gods create man, or was it the other way around? Depending on whom you ask, you’ll get different answers. Regardless of which story you believe, the fact remains that there is a strong bond between gods and men. It is this faith that empowers gods to operate in the human plane and allows humans to constantly augment the power of the gods.

Self-love – Phil learns that to achieve great things, you must love yourself at least as much as you love others. This means being fair and honest with yourself: acknowledging both your strengths and weaknesses. It means forgiving yourself for past mistakes and believing in your goals and in your ability to accomplish them. To effectively help others, you must first help yourself.

Soul – Officially, the Greek gods say that it is a spark of divine power that Hades put into humans so that they could help them order chaos. Hades admits privately that he did not create humans and thus has no idea what souls actually are. They are difficult to study because they are shaped by their vessels (genetics) and change permanently as a result of external stimuli. Hades also theorizes that the souls housed in people are merely shadows - the originals exist elsewhere, possibly in another dimension. Hades is troubled that his theory is strikingly similar to the New Age teachings.

Soul forging - Athena likens it to forging a steel blade, more of an art than a science. It requires repeated folding, hammering, and reheating, and progress depends greatly on decisions at critical junctures. Like steel, a soul can be shattered if improperly tempered. The Heroic Task was the means by which Phil was tempered.

Soul spectrometry – Each soul radiates energies of different frequencies, creating a unique energy signature. Soul spectrometry is the study of these signatures pioneered by Hades.

Lore and History

Gateway of the Fallen - The hole from which God tossed Satan and his followers into the Chaotic Void. It still exists on Earth because the angels will not go near it to repair it, and it seems incapable of repairing itself. It is undefended, and the gods fear that it is only a matter of time before Satan finds it and overruns Earth.

Geography of the realms - The realms are the products of the human imagination; every story ever told created an alternate universe. As Athena explains it, the realms are like balloons in the hands of a balloons salesman (human realm). Each realm is connected to any neighboring realm that it touches, and all the realms are connected to Earth. Each god realm hovers over the general vicinity of its followers, and the size and shape of the realm changes as its followers change.

The realms are surrounded by an endless expanse of chaos, often called the Chaotic Void. Unpredictable gusts of “Chaotic Wind” buffeted the realms, and sometimes they can strain the human realm enough to cause tears in the fabric of space-time. Chaos seeps in, causing bizarre events on Earth that humans attribute to “demons.”

Heroic Task - On Phil’s 21st birthday, Zeus challenged him to touch 1,000 lives in 12 years…or else! Phil subsequently toiled the rest of his 20s to complete the task before having a meltdown. It is later revealed that the Task was designed by Athena to test Phil’s mettle, to forge him into a Hero. Phil is initially angered about “wasting his life,” but later he realizes that the struggle was necessary for his growth.

Kratisto – According to legend, Alexander the Great said, “kratisto” (“to the strongest”) on his deathbed when asked who would succeed him. This is also the codename of Ares’ rival Hero project. Not much is known about it except that Athena considers it to be an abomination that must never be realized.

New Age religion - A small but growing segment of the gods believe in the possibility of a higher being, the “First Prime.” It created the original universe, “The Ideal,” which houses all possible forms of matter. All subsequent universes are but limited and imperfect version of The Ideal. Such a belief is extremely controversial and threatens to divide the gods into factions. Zeus has forbidden the Greek gods from openly discussing this topic.

Persephone– Daughter of Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest, and wife of Hades who only resides in the Underworld each winter. When Hades was young (and stupid, as he says) he was so enamored with Persephone that he schemed to first abduct her and then to entrap her in the Underworld. When Persephone returns to Demeter, the earth blooms with spring, and when she returns to the Hades, the earth is once again barren.

As Hades matured, he grew to regret his youthful transgressions and offered to release Persephone from her bond to the Underworld. But by then, she had grown accustomed to the arraignment, and so she declined his offer. Hades would like to believe that love plays some part in this decision, but who really knows the hearts of women?

Relations between gods - Once the gods warred with each other, fighting for human souls. But for the last 2,000 years, the gods have united to fight a common enemy, Satan. Since that time, two groups of deities have been assigned to collect souls: the Judeo-Christian-Muslim god and the pantheon of Hindu-Buddhist gods. The rest of the gods fall into eight battlegroups: the Greco-Romans, the Indians, Mesopotamians, Egyptians, East Asians, Pre-Colombians, Norse, and Tribal - a catchall category for all the other minor factions.

Origin of universe and man - The Greek gods say that they created the universe from chaos. Unfortunately, chaos tended to destabilize order, and the universe was surrounded by an endless supply of chaos (also known as the Chaotic Void). To solve this problem, the gods created man in their image to help order chaos and to keep the universe intact.

The credibility of this story was seriously damaged after the discovery of other gods, although many Greek gods continue to believe it. Hades admitted to Athena privately that he did not create man, and she now suspects that man created the gods and not vice versa.

The Tournament - A dispute arose among the gods as to which Hero should lead humanity as each faction had its own Candidate. It was agreed that the best way to settle this dispute was to stage a Tournament. The Tournament is a three round playoff consisting of best-of-five series. The Tournament will test competency in four categories: combat, planning, execution, and management. Each Candidate is allowed to recruit his own team of up to 12 members from his faction’s existing heroes, the past, and the Afterworlds.

The Greco-Roman faction is currently fractured into two camps. Zeus and Ares support the “Kratisto” candidate while Athena supports Phil Safari. This schism must be resolved before the start of the Tournament.

Trojan War – a 10 year war between the Greeks and the city-state of Troy immortalized in the epic poem The Iliad by Homer. According to legend, this war began with a dispute between the Greek goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite over who was “the fairest.” Paris of Troy was asked to judge, and he picked Aphrodite. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of the Greek lord, Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Athena and Aphrodite are still not quite on speaking term over this event.

War in the Heavens - For the last 2,000 years, the gods have united to fight a common foe, Satan. Ever since he was cast into the Chaotic Void, Satan has been seeking a way to return to Earth and to exact revenge on mankind. His armies broke though the Greek realm 2,000 years, and the gods fear that it’s only a matter of time before he finds the Gateway of the Fallen and overruns Earth. The gods needs help from mankind and a Hero to lead it. The Tournament was designed to decide such a Hero.

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