#.i don’t like solas btw if that wasn’t already obvious lmao.

[kiivg]

Goddard was in his 70s at the beginning of Inquisition. Is he still around and if he is, do you think he’s involving himself with Solas and his world-ending shenanigans?

.Tf u mean IF?????? ☹️ BioWare did me dirty making the game 10 years into the future.

.I’m kidding ofc he’s around!! I literally made my HoF immortal because I cannot face any of my OCs dying 🙏 tbh I don’t actually know what year DAV is set in because I’ve seen people saying 9:51 and 9:53 so 🤷‍♂️ Goddard was born in 8:70 so he’s in his eighties at least.

.So initially I was like HELL YEAH Goddard Returns!!!!! And then it’s very clear that (as I SAID) the game was basically shoehorning you into being best buddies with Solas regardless of choice and I can tell you that a) Goddard doesn’t have a clue who Solas is and b) he would absolutely kill him on sight if he was presented with a “this guy is trying to end the world” scenario. Anyway, more below 💋.

.Edit!!! Also!!!! Solas stole his fucking wedding ring!!! What the fuck!!!!! He’d beat the shit outta him!!!!!.

.A bit on Goddard’s back story; since he was away so much with the Orlesian Army and then the Fereldan Army he missed out on a lot of his kids’ childhoods, (there’s also a disconnect between him and Fulton II re: Goddard’s own relationship with his father, and then the filicide of Wakefield, and the bastard Lei appearing), and whilst he has repaired the relationships with them he still very much regrets prioritising war over his family even though he was basically taught this from childhood. Goddard was raised to be a tyrant and warmonger, he was made for fighting in wars and winning them. However! He now has the chance to get to spend time with him family, since the Inquisition is over, he handed his army to the Divine, he’s made reparations to the Baroulx family, and he’s absolute besties with Emperor Gaspard.

.Since the end of Inquisition, he’s been retired, he has ten grandchildren and nine great grandchildren, he went back to ruling his bannorn for a few years, then passed it over to Twyla (his eldest child), and decided he’d rather just do whatever the hell he wants now. He still fights, sparring and what not to keep in shape, he might be old but he’s not going to just crumple into dust!! Also considering I have Goddard II (Twyla’s Grandson/Gylda’s First Born) bethrothed to Gaspard’s daughter Lienne. (they are however children atm), he’s spending a lot of time in Orlais.

.I do think he gets roped back into things when he’s in Orlais. I think Hawke is the first one to realise shit is going down, and since he’s friendly with both Andrastopher (HoF) and Goddard, he kind of gathers them in preparation for something to happen (Varric’s letters grow increasingly worrying). Which means they’re all in Orlais together when shit hits the fan. Also there, is Lei (Goddard’s bastard son and Andrastopher’s Warden Second), and he is tasked with seeing how things are going in the north after Morrigan turns up for aid; after all Lei is a Grey Warden, half-Dalish, and son of the Herald of Andraste. He’s also a pretty good guy and overall trustworthy etc etc. a HUNK lbh.

.(On a side note, I’m 90% sure the Crossroads are like really exhausting to traverse for anyone who isn’t an elf so idk how anyone non-elven is chilling there??? But that’s another factor in Lei going. I’m not reading TME again just to check, but… I should…. For Gaspard 🥴🫶).

.So Goddard just liaises with his son throughout the whole thing, and trusts him entirely to do the right thing. He’s busy fighting for Gaspard, corralling the old Inquisition back together to aid Orlais knowing that Andrastopher is pulling together Ferelden’s armies at the same time. Hawke on the other hand absolutely legs it to Starkhaven to be with Sebastian (oh HC that this is why Starkhaven has the best survival in the Free Marches; Hawke forewarned them) even though their relationship is hush hush 🤫.

.I think Goddard would desperately want to return to Ostwick to be with his family during Veilguard but Twyla has a hand on things and he trusts her implicitly. Also he would look like a mad coward if he left lmao, can you imagine?? Herald of Andraste fleeing home when things get bad????.

.I do like the idea of all four of them getting together post Veilguard, because a) Andrastopher has slept with both Farid (Rook) and Doherty Hawke, b) Doherty would absolutely be mad at Farid for that thing that happens, c) Farid would be mad at Goddard for working with Solas in the first place, d) Goddard and Andrastopher already have beef over their sons anyway, like?? Hello smth is gonna happen with these four guys lbh.

.I do want to say originally Farid was going to be Goddard’s son, as he did have a liaison with a woman at some point before having children with Yetta (his wife) but it would make Farid too old so 🤷‍♂️ then I thought woag what if he was Gaspard’s bastard, and then I couldn’t because it would be borderline ??? Because Farid’s half brother Jean-Esmeral would be sleeping with Gaspard without knowing that their mother had also slept with him several times decades prior and had baby Farid together 😬🙂‍↔️ no thanku.

.The main thing is they’re all safe and sound 🙏 and even if I do love the idea of a last stand in Amaranthine/Starkhaven/Orlais, broken the moment Farid does his thing with the Veilguard ykno ykno, they’re still all safe 🙂‍↕️🫶💕.

[mrs-gauche]

At last, the synopsis of volume 4 of "The Missing" is out (the final volume!) and I have a few thoughts! (Do NOT read further if you haven't read the preview of volume 1 yet and don't want to get spoiled! 🙂)

(Here's my comment/speculations on the previous three synopses btw, of which a lot has actually already been answered/debunked by the first five pages of the first volume. lol)

Ok so, first things first: Hey, looks like Solas is apparently NOT at the White Spire after all! 😂 So much for people's speculations. lol What's kinda funny to me though, is how Varric and Harding, instead of (what we suspected) going further east, seem to go all way back to Tevinter now, to get to the capital. lol Let's hope the long journey wasn't completely for naught then. Though what's up with this seemingly never ending "cat-and-mouse" game here? 😂 You think that maybe Solas knows about them searching for him and has been purposefully leading them astray this whole time? lol

"After many close encounters and more signs of a Venatori stalking them (...)"

So, for anyone who has read the preview of volume 1, were you also instantly reminded of the shadowy person seen in the last panel? Especially with how it mentions "many close encounters", I think it's very likely that this could refer to whoever was already watching them while walking the Deep Roads? Hmm..

"This time, it seems they're hot on his heels"

(See, it's funny because Solas doesn't like wearing shoes lol)

So, after Varric and Harding couldn't track down Solas in neither the Deep Roads, Vyrantium OR the Arlathan Forest, he has now apparently hit the big city.

Remember how we kept joking about Solas just going to Tevinter and walking the streets of Minrathous completely unrecognized, when most of Tevinter doesn't actually know what he looks like (as far as we know)? lmao Well, joke’s on us? 😂 So, who in Minrathous, aside from maybe Dorian, would even be able to "spot" him then? lol Watch Solas pull another "Bard" on us and disguising himself as the most ridiculous Venatori Lord Anus McEvilus. lol So, what's Solas doing there? And who is this "trusted informant"? I think the most obvious answer here would be Dorian? Perhaps even Mae (we know her and Varric are super close! 👀👀)?

"The duo find they have a tough decision to make - and they'll need to make the right call fast."

Alright, so why the urgency now? And what does this "tough decision" entail? Seeing as this is the final volume of this comic that has been marketed to directly tie into the plot of DA4, what's interesting to note here is that, with Antoine and Evka now making an appearance in volume 1, it seems as though every faction shown in the 2020 teaser trailer and the concept art will feature in each volume now, meaning the Wardens (Evka and Antoine) in volume 1, the Crows (Teia and Viago?) in volume 2, the "Veil Jumpers" (Irelin and Strife?) in volume 3 and now, back in Minrathous, a Tevinter... Siccari in volume 4 then? Or maybe one of the guys in this short story? Seeing as the short stories from DA Day 2020 also all happen to perfectly line up with the four factions in the comic/teaser/concept art? 👀

It definitely raises the chances for these four factions to be potential "career paths" for our new protagonist and maybe the "tough decision" involves Varric having to choose which of these factions to contact in order to further pursue Solas or something (or what if that decision is then left to the players at the start of DA4 and we get to choose which of those four factions will be part of our "origin story"?)

And btw, can I just mention how my initial speculation over a year ago or so, was that one of those four factions would be part of an infiltration mission at the start of the game for our next protagonist (who is actually a Lord of Fortune) hired by Varric in order to obtain vital information about the red lyrium idol? 😂 If this turns out to be the case somehow, I'll eat my hat. lmao

Anyway, while I have read the preview of volume 1 (and I already have a ton of thoughts on this as well!), I would like to wait for the full volume to come out on the 25th to post a comment and cover the whole thing. That being said, I can't wait to read all of it, seems very promising so far! 😁

[mrs-gauche]

So, I had planned to write a comment on the three published synopses of the upcoming comic series "The Missing" (first volume to release on January 25th btw!), but since @felassan​​ kinda beat me to it and already wrote amazingly detailed posts summing up everything and elaborating further on what I fail to put into words lol, I'm just gonna add my pointless ramblings poor two cents to it now, I guess. 😶

(Beware also of spoilers for Tevinter Nights, Absolution and the comics under the cut!)

(Thanks Dark Horse btw, for already giving away half the plot with these, jeez 😂)

First off, when I first read the second synopsis, not gonna lie, I was genuinely surprised that Solas turned out to be the "former friend" in question. 😂 I know, it was kinda the obvious answer, but maybe that's why I wasn't really expecting it? I think the title also lead me a little astray here? Assuming that the title is actually referring to Solas.. Given the circumstances, referring to Solas as "missing" would be.. pretty funny and also more than a litte strange to me, actually? lol It would definitely raise a few questions here...

So, let us assume that the theory about the eight year timeskip since Trespasser turns out to be true. Have they (the Inquisition) been searching for Solas this entire time? And if that's the case, why is that so funny to me? 😂 (Especially considering the whole ending of Tevinter Nights, even though we can't really tell when exactly that last chaper took place.. Imagine they've been searching for him for the better part of a decade, and then he just pops up with a silly wig and a fake french accent at some tea house one day. lmaoo)

Furthermore, why is it *only* Varric and Harding that seem to be conducting this search? You would think that for something as crucial as finding the person that announced to destroy the world, there would be a few more people on this search than that? lol So, what's the rest of the remains of the Inquisition doing then? Are there several teams searching in different places maybe? To expand this search as far as possible? Maybe they're trying to keep a low profile by searching in teams of two, since it would reduce the risk of Solas finding out about what they're up to? I mean, wasn't that the whole reason for why they even said they needed to "find someone Solas doesn't know"/never sees coming at the end of Trespasser, to try and keep him in the dark about any efforts against him?

Also, speaking of Varric. Assuming that this story takes place after Absolution now, the ending of the series could explain why Varric left Kirkwall and his position as Viscount? Maybe, aside from trying to stop the obvious threat/end of the world, they are now desperate to seek help/information/any answers from Solas on what to do against the corruption of the Blight and the red lyrium spread? (Because if there's *anyone* who would know something, it's him right?) What does the state of the world look like in regards to the Blight and red lyrium in general after a potential eight year timeskip?

Okay, so why would they be searching for Solas in the Deep Roads beneath Marnas Pell then? Honestly, when I read this the first time, my mind (as always lol) immediately went back to the red lyrium idol again. And no, I still don't believe that a single thing about the Bard's tale in Tevinter Nights actually happened (but that's just me). lol So, assuming this happens after the end of TN (and Solas isn’t already in possession of the idol like he claimed), he would still be searching for that flippin thing now, wherever it may be. (How could the idol end up in the Deep Roads beneath Tevinter you ask? No idea. 😂) But I also can't forget about the ominous "Hunt of the Fell Wolf" poem from the Jaws of Hakkon DLC that talks of a demon wolf (Solas?) in a "labyrinth of winding cave" (Deep Roads?) where there's an "idol that could prove the monster’s doom"(!! Coincidence?? I think NOT! lmao).

Btw, wouldn’t it be kinda funny though if Solas was searching for the idol now, while Varric who found the idol with Hawke in the first place, is now searching for Solas? lol

So, what's the plan here exactly? Assuming they would be successful, in which case Varric and Harding find Solas and then.... what? You're telling me Varric and Harding are gonna tie him up and talk him out of his endeavors? 😂 Single-handedly kill him? Torture him with tea? Spy on him? Reminisce about the Inquisition days? lol I honestly think it's more likely that they would try to talk to him, being former friends and all, unless they have some type of super secret weapon against him that we don't know about yet.

So what *would* Solas be doing in the Deep Roads beneath Marnas Pell? (Besides, you know, painting yet another teaser trailer thumbnail for YouTube. lol)

(Our man has been procrastinating hard for the past eight years, painting as many Deep Roads cave walls as possible to avoid going through with his plans. lmao)

It's also worth to remember that a lot of Tevinter was actually build on the ruins of old Elvhenan, which could explain why there are still places with names like "Solas" to be found on the map. (And btw, what is it about this place that lead to it getting this name, anyway? I mean, that name practically guarantees for this place to become relevant in some form down the line in DA4, right? Especially since Solas' line about how he supposedly came from a "small village to the north" won't ever leave my mind and we all know that this man is always telling at least half the truth, so.. could he have been referring to the place literally called Solas, if that's his place of origin or would that be too much on the nose? 😂) Anyway, it definitely raises the question on how old some of these Deep Roads beneath Tevinter actually are and if there could be structures found beneath it that even precede them (like what we saw in The Descent)? And maybe that's part of the reason why Solas would go there..?

Anyway, since none of this actually seems to matter now, because as it turns out in synopsis two, apparently Solas wasn't there after all. 😂 Next stop is Vyrantium and an encounter with "deadly Antivan Crow assassins", which is interesting, since the last we heard of Vyrantium and crows, it was in the "The Wigmaker Job" in TN. Additionally, the cover of volume two features two characters that kinda look like the crows Teia and Viago!

I'll be honest, I had completely forgotten that Teia and Viago even made an appearance in Deception. lol But the look does kinda match? So the question is, what lead Varric and Harding to go from the Deep Roads to Vyrantium and then to the Arlathan Forest?

So, the Arlathan Forest. Again, please check out felassan’s post for more information, they’ve done a fantastic job to write down every important bit to know here. Much like Teia and Viago, it was also featured in both TN and one of the short stories “Ruins of Reality”. As were the characters Strife and Irelin! Could they be the mysterious “Veil Jumpers”? What even is a Veil Jumper, anyway (felassan gave some pretty cool speculations on this!)?

Former DA4 Creative Director Matthew Goldman made an interesting comment on a fanart once, that lead people to speculate that the group of people we've seen in a lot of concept art are called “Veilfire archer”?

..Which does sound to be in the same vein as Veil Jumper, so could they all be part of the same group of people/an entirely new faction even?

(Notice also the recurring background with the golden/autumn leaves. Reminds me of the leaves and branches seen on the (now removed) vinyl cover (showing the Black City *cough* Arlathan *cough*??).)

And lastly, what is this "crucious stone" and how does it relate to literally anything? lol While felassan did speculate about a potential link to Latin/Tevene, someone else pointed out that "crucious" is literally Greek for "crucial". So.. plot crucial stone? lol As in, literally another MacGuffin? (Red lyrium idol, you're getting competition lol) The fact that it's Greek is interesting to me, given that we've been speculating for a while now that BioWare seems to take a lot of inspiration from Greek mythology for anything regarding the ancient elves. 👀 And since we *are* in the *Arlathan* forest here after all, maybe that's where the connection lies..?

People have also pointed out that, based on the track Varric and Harding have been taking so far, first Marnas Pell, then Vyrantium and now the Arlathan Forest...

...assuming that, if they were to go further east, they would end up at the White Spire, which is why some people assume that this is where Solas has to be now. lol

I mean, anything is possible! We know next to nothing about the White Spire (not to be confused with the White Spire in Orlais btw lol), other than it's an Antivan mountain north of the city of Brynnlaw, so there is really nothing else to go on as to why Solas would even be there.. But considering how they are marketing this comic as a direct tie-in for DA4 and there’s still one volume to go (I think?).. Maybe we do end up knowing where Solas is at the end of this comic and this will segue directly into the beginning of DA4 somehow?

(I also want to mention that Rivain is also right next to the White Spire when going even further east. Rivain being also where the main base of a certain guild of treasure hunters is located. Lord of Fortune has been a very popular candidate for the potential next protagonist for a while now. Just saying... 👀)