More on the organization of The Grey Wardens.

"Being a Grey Warden is almost tolerable.  It's a pleasant stroll in the park -- with Darkspawn!" - Anders

The nominal leader of our order is the First Warden, but you can expect little assistance or guidance so far from the Anderfels. Even those close to Weisshaupt learn to suffer along.  The murmurs are true -- the First Warden is often embroiled in the politics of the Anderfels and has little opportunity to consider worldly matters.  I would like to believe it is a matter of survival , not of political self-interest.

The order of Grey Wardens is commanded by the First Warden in Weisshaupt.  The hierarchy seems to follow a system of nationaly branches, each commanded by local officer referred to as a Warden-Commander or a Commander of the Grey.  Apparently, small numbers make for simple hierarchy, as no other ranks have been mentioned; the other members appear to follow a less formal "pecking order" determined by seniority (decided by time of Joining).  At the time of my story (Fifth Blight), the strength of the Grey Wardens is estimated at over 1,000 Anderfels, several hundred in Orlais, and around two dozen in Ferelden.

The Joining

To become part of the Grey Wardens, a recruit must first go through a ritual called the Joining.  One of the reasons for the small number of Grey Wardens is that few can survice this ritual.  Only those who have a decent chance of surviving the Joining will even be made recruits.  The ritual and the details about it are kept a strict secret by the Grey Wardens, because during the Joining, the recruits drink from a goblet containing a mixture of darkspawn blood, lyrium, and a drop of blood from an archdemon.  Few survice this, but those who live become Grey Wardens -- forever connected to the darkspawn, and forever tainted by the blood they have consumed.

Becoming a Grey Warden requires a dose of the darkspawn corruption in sufficient potency to have an immediate effect, rather than slowly corrupt the consumer into a ghoul.  While archdemon blood is typically used, blood of other darkspawn creatures can be magically treated to make it function in the ritual.  However, the average darkspawn doesn't have enough of the corruption within it for this to work.

The Joining rituals grants Grey Wardens several abilities: their link to the group mind allows them to detect the presence of darkspawn and they become immune to further corruption by the Blight.  However, they also suffer from bad (if occasionally prophetic) dreams, ravenous hunger, and shortened lifespans.  Also, while they can sense darkspawn, darkspawn can also sense them.  As much of a boon as this dark gift is for the Wardens, it has also allowed them to be hunted by the darkspawn on occasion.

Avernus, when asked, states that the darkspawn taint conferred by the Joining contains incredible powers, with the ability to sense darkspawn as the least of such.  He speculated that applications of energy and blood could unlock these powers, and endeavored to replicate the effects alchemically.

*Avernus is a human mage Grey Warden that has lived since the time when Wardens inhabited Soldier's Peak, also known as Warden's Keep.