#Judge Magister

[lesserknownwaifus]

Judge Drace from Final Fantasy XII

[ff12-ultimania]

FF12 wallpaper (1024×768)

from SQUARECN. alternative design here

[tampire]

Zeromus condemns the Judge Magisters

[lives-in-a-harpsichord]

Had a bad day so sketched Ghis to cheer myself up

Kinda surprised at how well it worked

[chaoticacecryptid]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: final fantasy xii Rating: mature Warnings: alcohol abuse/alcoholism, implied/referenced character death Characters: Gabranth | Noah fon Ronsenburg, Basch fon Ronsenburg (mentioned) Summary:

His brother was chained, yes, but so was he – bound by the neck like any sick dog with chains too thick to break. His armor a cage of his own design. His blood his own downfall. He reached for the decanter and took another drink.

For @ffxiiweek Day 1: favorite character/"The past can bind a man as surely as irons."

*please note my works are limited to ao3 users only!

[chantalvonrosen]

WIP

[disillusionedjudge]

{Hero Archetypes: The More... something version}

The Fallen Hero You are the Fallen Hero, a tragic embodiment of betrayal, vengeance, or perhaps a heart-wrenching love story turned awry. Whether exposed to corrupting influences, manipulated by deal-makers, brainwashed, extorted, blackmailed, or witnessing the destruction of sacred bonds, your descent into darkness is marked by profound sorrow and loss. You might have turned for the sake of greed. Yet within, a lingering spark of hope remains, compelling you to reluctantly extend assistance to the newcomers. Motivated by the sincere desire to shield them from the same tragic fate you endured, you find yourself driven to guide and protect, despite the shadows of your own past.

tagged by: @tarnishedxknight tagging: anyone!!

[lightinxthedark]

((I am gonna say Zargabaath runs Archadia's equivalent of the faa because I really do love the idea of it, and it feels fitting for my take on him!

[wovenwaves]

@tarnishedxknight - continued from here

Gods, never did Maris think she would be so taken by a Judge Magister, and, yet... she was. Drace had come to mean so much to her, she no longer could imagine her life without her, and nor did she want to. Not only had Drace reunited her with her dear cousin, but she had nurtured life back into her heart that had been so heavy with grief, Maris oft struggled to get through the days without falling apart and wanting to give up.

Perhaps it would have been easier to dismiss Drace as another Imperial. To cling to her old belief that they were all the same - faceless and cruel - but... she couldn't. Even with Noah as a Judge Magister himself, as one so vitally important, she couldn't hold it against him. And because she couldn't hold it against him, she couldn't hold her pain against Drace either, because she had proven herself to be hume. To be a dear friend to her, and something more. It was a love Maris had never seen coming, nor a love she expected to find again. But this...

Maris smiled as Drace lifted her hand to her lips and kissed the back of her fingers. Her expression soft and full of love and affection, and a brightness to her eyes that had only just found its way back with the beautiful and brilliant Magister. Her heart felt lighter than it had in years, and, oh, how it sang with her beloved's words. To hear her own sentiments shared - to know how much she meant to Drace.

"And I will gladly have you," she promised softly as she squeezed her hand. As she closed her eyes with her forehead still pressed to her lover's, and as she breathed her in. As she simply just... took everything about the Magister in, and relished in her presence. In her warmth and her love. "You have done so much for me, my love. You healed my heart when I felt like I had long since drowned. To have you is an honor and a blessing."

Tears slipped down her cheeks as Maris pulled her head away, but she was far from sad. Her expression still so soft and loving as she leaned in to give Drace a proper, gentle kiss - still holding onto her hand before she pulled away. "I love you so much, Drace," she whispered, "and I always will. And I will do anything for you."

[acepalindrome]

God, now I’m thinking about student Dorian at the Necropolis, sneaking out at night to canoodle with another boy and getting caught by Professor Volkarin, who gives them a talking to (he’s not judging too harshly, but it’s not safe for students to wander the Necropolis unattended!) and sends them back to the dormitories.

Or at least he meant to, but young Master Pavus seems genuinely upset for some reason, which is quite unlike the usually flippant young man. He asks Emmrich if his father is going to be told about this, which has Emmrich baffled because why would a magister need to be told about his son engaging in a bit of ordinary teenage mischief?

And then Dorian finally manages to get out that no, he’s not talking about the sneaking out part. He’s afraid his father is going to be told that he was with another boy.

And the whole awful situation finally clicks into place for Emmrich, who now has to sit down with Dorian and explain that of course his father won’t be told, because there’s nothing wrong with the gender of the person he’s choosing to spend his time with. If his father takes issue with it, then his father is the one in the wrong. There is nothing wrong with Dorian being who he is.

And now Emmrich also has to pretend he can’t tell that Dorian is trying very hard not to cry, because he’s never had an adult say any of this to him before, and it’s something he’s needed to hear for so long.

[mohntilyet]

literally cannot remember if this is already a post you made but do u think about if illario was a companion character and lucanis wasnt (maybe still rescued from the ossuary, maybe not). would he even be a viable companion character. etc.

i think i've mentioned it in tags but god yeah i've been thinking about companion illario. through bias and visions i think he could have made a really great companion!!!! i just don’t think we had enough who lie to/betray you in veilguard and i was like illario would love to do this <3 or at least TRY to do this and find that he can’t, because the betrayal-according-to-approval mechanic would return in this concept. this assumes a lot of things that i consider to be canon, including that illario’s a genuinely good assassin (YMMV on this i think. i look upon him with rose tinted glasses) but we’re introduced to illario as the second-best option who accompanied lucanis on various mage-killing quests.

he’s recruited in minrathous and not treviso because he’s been killing venatori like a man crazed. i forget who made the post but the one about how veilguard recruitment quests feel forced because you are recruiting, when stumbling on the right people could have felt more organic and a lot less formulated. he’s been operating in minrathous as the ‘demon of vyrantium’, which he admits to rook that he’s not the original. the original was lucanis, who was captured and killed by the venatori, and in his grief, has been trying to kill the magister (zara) that killed his cousin. he’s actually very nice and fun for an assassin, but players get the feeling that the charm is practiced, and there are glimpses into the “something rotten” under the surface.

what the players also do not know is that his hatred for the venatori is definitely projecting his guilt, because even in this au, illario is the guy who originally betrayed his brother and his complexes (slash pos slash hot slash i often picture him on his knees) remain. anyways. plot breakdown under the cut because its so fucking long and please take with a grain of salt because this was workshopped on a call with fie, who ‘yes and’s everything i say, so it might not be the greatest plot ever. nor very coherent. however, this is my blog and i can say whatever i want

act one recruitment: hunting down and killing zara. there’s foreshadowing here or something where she definitely recognises him and the facial animation leans towards “betrayal”. like zara saying “you?” in a way that can be mistaken for fear, when it’s recognition and betrayal + illario killing her before she can reveal anything else. they find evidence that lucanis is still alive and you see how excited he is, but also very conflicted. illario finally returns to treviso, and you immediately see the favoritism when he informs caterina that lucanis could still be out there. caterina delights in the idea of her favorite weapon back in her possession, and illario swears to bring him back.

in between: there’s a venatori leak! the magisters send some back up to weisshaupt which makes things a lot harder for the veilguard (miniboss before ghil?), and it contributes to failing to strike at ghilanain. but who could it be? everyone is a bit wary of each other, and causes friction.

act two: the ossuary <3 inexplicably, illario has found where lucanis is. the veilguard fights their way in and out, escaping with lucanis and destroying the vial of blood. they also find out lucanis is possessed, and when they return to treviso, after the shock and relief leaves, there’s a gleam in caterina’s eyes. illario is moved up in line of succession because caterina can’t see an abomination becoming talon (canon not discussing that he’s fucking possessed pisses me off so bad btw), and she’s obviously envisioning a world where lucanis’ leash is passed onto the grandson she’d seen as lesser, but has recently proved himself better than she had previously judged. suddenly, illario has everything he’s ever wanted, but not in the way he’s wanted it. he’s never wanted to necessarily be greater than, and doesn’t want to lose him. illario is very uncomfortable about becoming a new caterina to lucanis, but can’t express himself or explain it because he’s deeply repressed and he’s trying to be happy because, isn’t this what he wants?

in between: illario’s acting super weird. a high approval illario is a lot more awkward and doesn’t seem to know what to say, which is a first for him. he’s obviously putting on a brave/pretty face on, and hesitates to say something— but finally just thanks rook for helping him get lucanis back. a low approval illario is actually much happier, smiling and laughing and delighted by the way things have gone, with rook/the player none the wiser about what’s happened. (kind of like… bull’s reaction to the chargers in the dreadnought quest being positive either way, but the repercussions come later)

if you are in a romance, a low approval illario will trigger a sex scene, a high approval illario does the dellamorte branded “lean in for a kiss but he can’t bring himself to actually follow through and leaves rook awkwardly”. the differences in reaction would ideally confuse and interest players :)

act three: hinges on approval rating. illario plotted to trade rook’s life for lucanis’. the venatori at weisshaupt was supposed to be their shot to kill them, but failed to do so, and now they’re forcing him to make good on his deal. there’s a cutscene where the party is led into a trap and a high ranking venatori magister— the one who actually experimented on lucanis (because zara is like a middle man. she wants the blood but isn’t the evil mage scientist who did all the experiments)— shows himself and reveals everything illario has done. he was the one behind lucanis’ initial ‘death’. how the venatori leak was him. illario is desperately trying to keep the venatori’s mouth shut, but the magister is tricking him with magic as he tries harder and harder to keep his cover. a fun, trippy kind of sequence where there are illusions and mindfucky magic as illario stabs at the magister and finds out he’s attacking air, and the party keeps getting attacked with magic that they can’t figure out is real or not until it hits them, in this hall of mirrors type freakshow. it splits into two different paths:

low approval: the deal to save lucanis over rook was made early on, and nothing they have done has made illario think differently. he’s scripted to be more defensive and try to stop the magister from speaking, ignoring the party and thinking only about how he can keep his secrets but failing to. he’s angry that his plans have fallen down around him, and attacks both the party and venatori, determined to keep his failures from reaching anyone else (god forbid it reach caterina). the party are forced to kill him when he turns on them, willing to work with the venatori to keep the power he has before it slips away from him again.

high approval: everything they have done has made illario think differently and he’s spent ages regretting and trying to find a way out of the deal (see: the distress he feels right after becoming first talon, interesting codexes, etc). he’s scripted to defend rook from magic, at cost to himself, physically protecting his friends/rook from the magister and getting in the way of spells. he admits what he’s done and pleads with them to help him, despite having no reason to trust him. after the party fights the magister off together, illario begs for forgiveness, explaining himself, how regret couldn’t make up for what he’s done but he’s still tried to change things, change himself. but how could you ignore the feeling that, as with everything else in his life, that this is another lie? you get the choice to trust him and forgive him, or kill him for betraying the veilguard. i think this can hit harder if he’s romanced and you forgive him. the image of him pleading literally on his knees is about to get me to black out, followed by a rook who gets down on the ground and lowers themselves to his level just to kiss him before pulling them both up onto their feet again…. its like a ‘i fear to stain your hands with blood’ moment <3

completed companion quest: faced with compassion that he’s basically never extended to anyone, illario is inspired. he admits this guilt to lucanis, wanting to make him talon and leave everything behind, and while lucanis initially is obviously both angry and distressed, he later seeks out illario by himself, and their reconciliation happens off screen. i’d love for rook to be there so i could this but i honestly do not think its their place like can we leave the dellamortes to do this by themselves. in private its just a very “you went through hell to get me back. i think i need to give you a chance” + a slow rebuilding of the trust they had. and also lucanis has not even gotten the same outside support system as illario has taken his place and i think it’s good to note that. well. illario is about the most positive his relationships get and the only other person he would potentially have is caterina, who is also a more intense and outwardly scheming in this au. so not to be like “lucanis has no choice” but he kinda has no choice LOL. the point is: lucanis decides to protect him, and says that this betrayal is something they have to keep secret together as long as it safeguards illario, which safeguards himself. like what would the crows think of 1) illario trying to usurp power using an outside source (infighting/betrayal is okay. bringing a third party into crow business is not), 2) illario losing the idgaf war and desperately bringing lucanis back, 3) lucanis being possessed, 4) lucanis forgiving illario despite it all because they’re so codependent they can’t even bring themselves to leave the other. house dellamorte so weak that they can’t snuff out the weakness in each other? oh fucking brother. they can’t let anyone know how dire this situation is, and need to present a united front. also the terrible fact that they love each other deeply remains. mentioned in banter probably? eg:

“So… what do the Crows think?” // “The Crows don’t know.” // “…What? But your brother, and you—“ // “Are keeping it to ourselves. We’ve discussed this. House Dellamorte can’t afford to look divided, not right now.” // “So, what, he just forgave you?! You’re moving on? From trying to kill him?” // “'Forgave' is such a strong word, but maybe someday, yes. And we’re not just family, we’re Antivan Crows. You should know by now that we’re odd like this.”

“Illario. How long do you think you can keep that secret?” // “Considering only us, Lucanis and I know about it, hopefully forever. He insists that no one else has to know. Or should I be afraid that you’re going to go tell on me?” // “No! It’s just… Lucanis doesn’t, I don’t know, want vengeance?” // “Ha! He is the vengeancey one. But no. No, he’s… between the two of us, he’s always been the good one.” // “Lucky you.”

i also picture a lot of post revelations blackwall type banters and maybe something like davrin going “I have to believe you can be better, that you’ve changed. Half the Wardens are like that.” and once again i have to grieve varric because if there’s anyone that would understand lying their ass off and having mixed feelings about their brother, IT’S HIM LOOLLL. i think harding would treat him quite harshly, and neve loses a lot of respect because why would you ever even think about working with the venatori. but there’s a recognition over how he’s changed for the better. i think bellara is the surprise sympathiser, with everything she feels about cyrian. (“For a second, listening to Anaris to be with my brother again was worth it. So… yeah. I get it.” // “You weren’t foolish enough to fall for it. I did.” // “But you’re fixing it, aren’t you?” // “I’m trying.” // “Cyrian tried too. And if I can still forgive him, I can forgive you too.” // “…Thank you.” )

i also think a serious talk about being talon happens, where lucanis doesn't think he should be talon (possessed so his self worth is at an all time low. and also he's always thought illario should be talon anyway) and asks illario to keep the title. which is... weird because suddenly illario realises he doesn't necessarily want to be talon anymore. sure he can, sure he finally has caterina's approval, but he's got a new chance in life and he's not sure he wants to spend his life running an organisation that doesn't even care about him, would betray him first chance they got and remind him of the way he used to be, or see who he is the way the veilguard/lucanis has. his bitterness towards caterina also trumps his envy of lucanis, and the idea of lucanis resenting him as much as he resents caterina is something he'd like to avoid, which is another reason he's uncomfortable with being expected to tug at the leash. indecisive, illario can't quite fully commit himself to the crows, but is nervous about what leaving them would mean.

endgame: he would take lucanis’ place as a magekiller in this ofc, so he’s the guy killing ghil, and (for now….) first talon leading the crows to fight in minrathous (illario: “one of us should probably say something. remind the crows in whose name this fight is to be fought. we are emotional beings after all, and rhetoric is the fuel that feeds the fire—“ viago: “maker’s sake just give your speech”) i’ve also implied romance throughout this ask while not discussing it properly (ask me about it later. i need time to think on the whole romance arc and beats i know it exists but i refuse to give out half baked illario thoughts.) and i think the endgame post-fade prison talk would be very sweet and so intensely genuine/sincere and illario’s half struggling with being this truthful but pushes through because he wants to say “i love you” and really mean it. almost losing rook has put his priorities in order, and rook is at the top of this order, which has made him reevaluate everything else in his life and realise, "i don't think i can live without you. please don't make me". it’s fun for me that lucanis’ romance is a first in many different ways, but for illario it would be the first time experiencing actual romantic feelings for someone that he’s not faking, so you can imagine the damage its wrecking on his crow-psyche. sometime here i think there’d also be a decision where he’d ask to leave the crows and be with rook, tho i also think if given the chance to develop he could actually find something he cares more about than being first talon. genuine affection might kill him, reciprocated affection would probably be the nail in that “fuck the crows actually i just found out i like life outside of treviso” coffin.

but this is kind of leaning towards “illario only leaves the crows if you romance him” which i don’t like the sound of. he should be able to do that without a romantic relationship. i think narratively the best way to end this arc is for illario to leave the crows after having found alternatives to what he believed his life should amount to (as i think lucanis should have in veilguard), but i also don’t exactly know how to end it. i do want house dellamorte to be defunct, like an ‘illario leaves, and so does lucanis’ thing, where even lucanis gets the chance to grow out of believing “death is his calling”. i also like the idea that illario, ever the extrovert, gets real friends and is like “LUCANIS. you gotta fucking experience this” LMFAO. i’m thinking maybe the companion you spend most time with illario in the party after his act 3 quest starts to suggest things, so neve being like “you made a pretty great demon of vyrantium. consider making venatori-killing your full time job, you were good at it, despite all the traitor stuff.” or taash going “you know, you wouldn’t be the first lord of fortune to make mind numbingly stupid mistakes. drop by sometime. you and isabela can bond over it.” and they’re half joking but it makes the cogs in illario’s mind turn where he’s like “whoa. i could just. stay with the people who like me!” and where he goes is mentioned in the epilogue. a romanced illario would potentially just join the faction rook is a part of, tho a de riva would probably be unique in choosing if they want to remain a crow.

HOWEVER. i honestly don’t know if this is in character. fie and i convinced ourselves it was but i’ve had some time to really chew on it and idk if he’d want to give his ambitions up?? if someone has managed to read on this far, feel free to suggest things if you like i am always stumped because i don’t actually want to crows to stop being an assassin house, and there’s ofc no way to really make them ‘softer’ without taking away the bite that makes them interesting to play with. but extricating the dellamorte cousins from this WHILE feeling true to dragon age writing is difficult lol. just let me think. i’ll be back with some results hopefully.

side note: if illario is killed, lucanis takes his place with some difficulty (spite getting in the way, and no relationship building as he would get in canon) especially because despite his incredibly complicated feelings about his cousin trying to kill him, all of his anger is directed at rook for actually killing him. it doesn’t matter if lucanis would/could have never forgiven him, or otherwise, rook has taken that chance of hashing it out with illario from him completely, and lucanis won’t forgive them for it.

anyways the potential endings and first talons:

lucanis defaults into first talon if illario is killed as the only remaining heir, and struggles in this role alone, though the fact he is an abomination helps keep the crows in control for a while #cycles #snakethateatsitsowntail #housedellamorteissocooked

illario can remain first talon if encouraged to stay during the endgame, or if romanced by a rook de riva that also chooses to stay with the crows. depending on how the crow missions were complete, his direction with the crows either hardens/softens the organisation.

teia becomes first talon if illario decides to leave the crows, and rook has made choices that lean towards ‘softening’ the crows, eg. sparing ivenci to humiliate him, helping the crow-venatori loves run away, being kind towards jacobus, etc. the crows gain a reputation for coercion and can once in a while be found targeting, killing or exposing corrupt officials.

viago becomes first talon if illario decides to leave the crows, and rook has made choices that lean towards ‘hardening’ the crows, eg. killing ivenci to humiliate him, turning in the crow-venatori lovers, being harsh with jacobus, etc. the crows gain a reputation for efficient, quick assassinations that tip the scales towards anyone who can pay for their services.

if missions were not complete, the antivan crows’ reputation falls as they get sloppier, unable to recover from their losses and struggling to keep ahold of their power. there’s a reshuffling of talons, but the crows are in such disarray that it takes a decade for them to recover and gain back the effeciency they used to be infamous for.

ANYWAYS. sorry for that it is actually getting away from me and i don’t know how much of this is clear and how much of it is just my wishful thinking. i think there’s enough good things here to publish as an answer tho i’m aware this plot is kind of dollar store zevran LOL. maybe the best way to describe it is that i’ve accidentally combined blackwall, bull, and zevran’s arcs into this. hope this is at least a bit compelling for you anon!!!!!

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FF12 wallpaper (1024×768)

from SQUARECN, tianhuan. see the HD (1280×1024) on our patreon!

[vigilskeep]

the basics of tevinter politics and social classes, as laid out in world of thedas and a little elsewhere

the archon is the supreme ruler of the imperium. their authority and magical power is believed to be divinely granted. they choose their successors before they die, so they are usually the sons, nephews, brothers, cousins, or apprentices of previous archons. (this phrasing implies that, like the black divine, the archon is always a man, and certainly the several named ones we know all are, but i’m not sure if this is necessarily always true.) if an archon does not choose his heir before he dies, the magisterium elects the next; these candidates cannot be magisters or hold rank in the chantry. technically the archon can overrule the laws passed by the magisterium, but he rarely does this. his power mostly stems from families vying for his favour, as he has the unique power to appoint magisters at will. a man named radonis is the current archon; he’s appeared in comics and a war table mission.

the magisterium are the mage elites who regularly gather to govern the imperium and pass laws. magisters become magisters in several ways:

one is chosen from each of tevinter’s seven circles of magi. it cannot be that circle’s first enchanter

the imperial divine and every grand cleric of the imperial chantry gets a seat

magisters can inherit seats

as i mentioned, the archon has the right to appoint any new magister if he chooses

tevinter society breaks down into four major social classes.

the first mage class is the altus class. these are descended from the original “Dreamers”, through ancient and wealthy magical bloodlines. most magisters come from altus families. characters like dorian and danarius belong to this class.

other mages belong to the laetan class. these are mages who cannot trace their ancestry to the dreamers, and may belong to families with no history of magic at all. many vie for power despite their origins, and one third of the imperium’s archons have been laetans. (the first laetan to rise to archon was such an outrage it caused a seventy year civil war, but that was, like, 1500 years ago-ish. they’re more chill about it now.) it feels safe to assume that neve gallus, who says in tevinter nights that she doesn’t feel at home in a wealthy estate because she has more templars in her family than mages, probably belongs to this class.

the soporati are non-mages who are still full tevinter citizens. they are allowed to own property and serve in the military, but they cannot have a direct say in government or rise above the rank of mother/father in the chantry. they can however be civil servants and merchants. a mage born to a soporati family is instantly a laetan.

slaves are not allowed to own property, or to hold military rank even when armed and serving as a personal soldier or bodyguard. they have become a more even mix of humans and elves since andraste’s time. mages can be slaves. if a slave is set free, either by their living owner before a judge or by their owner’s will upon their death, they are considered liberati. liberati are still not citizens and cannot have political say or hold military rank, but they can join a circle of magi, get an apprenticeship in a trade, take apprentices themselves, and own property. fenris was a slave, while his sister varania was implied to have become one of the liberati.

there is also a large surface dwarf population in tevinter. they are not considered citizens, but instead regarded as foreign dignitaries however many generations their families have lived in tevinter. they have large embassies in every major tevinter city, which at least in minrathous, neromenian, and qarinus are completely subterranean, meaning residents can retain their dwarven caste and may never come above ground all their lives. minrathous’ close ties to the dwarves mean it even has a massive proving grounds, as well as enormous stone golems known as juggernauts to guard the city gates. more than anywhere else in thedas, the dwarves do get a political say, with an elected body of representatives called the ambassadoria who advise the archon and the magisterium. it’s the imperium’s reliance on lyrium which gives them this kind of sway.

[v-arbellanaris]

i go out of my way to tag my critical posts because i dont want to interrupt people's enjoyment of the game, but ive gotta say im getting really fucking annoyed at fan attitudes about anyone who has criticisms of the game at all

white people in the da fandom will hear "hey, why isnt the fact that racism/classism exists (which THE GAME has made clear for like 15 years now), and is systemic, ever mentioned or acknowledged in any real way in this game" and immediately have the worst bad faith take on the statement ever to immediately scream about how evil it is that People (because ofc they never imagine that any person of colour might be upset at the blatant erasure) Want Depictions of Bad Things like racism in their media

as an example, there is no consideration of slavery as a systemic practice in dock town - even as 'the poorest of the poor' social level, soporati are not slaves. i dont know if youve ever interacted with members of your society, but we do not fucking exist in a vacuum. dock town is not magically Not part of tevinter or tevinter politics - the fucking black divine literally has a whole fucking home base there. it literally wouldn't have taken that many changes either. we could have heard ambient banter about how the pay's shit, etc, but We All Know It Could Be So Much Worse (you could be enslaved). an ambient dialogue/banter about maybe someone working themselves desperately to the bone to try and buy their sibling back from servitude from a magister. like those are ugly situations, yeah, but do you see how that 1) lends some fucking depth to the population that is both consistent with the lore of previous games and 2) emphasising that people in dock town are not magisters, and are as subject to the whims of the ruling class as slaves are (can't believe i want class consciousness in my media, i know) and c) creating social and power distance between the magisters of tevinter and everyone else. but i dont recall getting anything like that in the game, but i do recall the two dockhands trying to awkwardly go on a date together. this is because veilguard is not interested in delving into these topics, which is a decision that was made, that i - a person who paid money for this game - get to criticise. on my own damn blog. under a read more on a correctly tagged post that you can choose not to engage with so as to not spoil your own hype.

YOU can't deal with your guilt so it makes YOU uncomfortable to see depictions of racism, but i dont have that problem. i don't get to opt out of racism in real life, i don't get to opt out of classism and casteism in real life, and so it's important to me to represent these experiences authentically and respectfully. if that kind of storytelling is not your cup of tea, that's fine, you can literally just say that - we all have different things we want out of our media. i might privately judge you but that's a valid take to have. but im getting really fucking annoyed by people acting Holier Than Thou and like Superior Understanders, and constantly undermining valid criticisms of how flat the sociopolitical contexts are in veilguard are either just Coming From The Racists, bad faith interpretations and/or illiterate idiots in the most fucking condescending way possible

[nadas-dirthalen]

Veilguard Theorycrafting Week 2: My Best Guess at 1200 Years of Mythal Shenanigans

Welcome, one and all! While I count down to Veilguard's Halloween release, I'm going to dissect one tinfoil hat theory I have per week.

This week: I'm going to try and guess what Mythal has been up to since the end of the First Blight—and why Vivial, one of Andraste's children, is the key to understanding everything about modern Mythal.

Elaboration, brainstorming, and sources below the cut! Be warned: this post is LONG.

SPOILERS for the Trespasser DLC, Tevinter Nights, and all Dragon Age games so far, INCLUDING VEILGUARD PROMOTIONAL CONTENT.

I'll be honest, folks, I thought I was going to do this post in a later week. But with as much content about the story coming out as it is right now, I wanted to get ahead of the game on Morrigan/Morriflemythal speculation.

The tl;dr here is: I think Mythal started the First Blight with the intention of finding a human host. I think she became Andraste, and that every one of her identities thereafter has been a descendant of Andraste.

So without further ado, let's go over this chronologically. Walk with me.

Part 1: Who Mythal Was Before Her Death & Why She Was Killed

I'm going to briefly gloss over this portion, because I already wrote a post in this series on what I think of the relationship between Mythal, lyrium, and the other Evanuris. Find all the specifics there!

Suffice it to say:

Mythal, though sea-coded, has more dealings with "the earth" than most of the other Evanuris (that we know of), and we know "earth" to be synonymous with "Deep Roads" and "lyrium."

The other Evanuris fought her, and each other, over this.

Mythal, however, avoided outright bloodshed for a long time. She was their judge. She advised them on nonlethal combat.

Various Flemeth dialogues imply that there was marital/domestic violence that Elgar'nan inflicted upon Mythal, up to and including SA. I don't have enough sources to affirm any specifics, and I don't want to get into very triggering territory, so I will leave it there.

We know that a spark of Mythal's soul lived on after her murder, and that she was never imprisoned by Solas like the other Evanuris. Thus, she has been free, unlike the others (that we know of) to seek other hosts for her spirit.

But she would not find success in this for millennia. Freeing her spirit to move while her archdemon was trapped belowground may have proved impossible. To find a new host, she may have had to free her archdemon — and for that, she would need existing mortals to do the freeing.

I (and many others) think she would not find success in this until the First Blight — the one that ended the same year Andraste was born.

Part 2: The First Blight & the Archdemon Dumat

For a long time, many people theorized that Dumat was Elgar'nan's archdemon. Many people theorized that archdemons were something else entirely, but recently it was confirmed (more or less?) that an archdemon is a dragon containing the sundered spirit of an Evanuris, much like Corypheus' did, to house their soul and keep them immortal.

But I think Mythal used the First Blight as a way to free Dumat's soul and transfer it to a living host.

Let me sum up the First Blight as fast as I can:

It began (supposedly) after the Magisters Sidereal crossed physically into the Fade and visited the "Golden City."

They did so because their gods (the archdemons) began whispering to them — and Dumat was the first to do so.

The archdemon Dumat then led this Blight for two hundred years.

During that time, Dumat was killed once, only to come back later. This is because his soul (like Corypheus in DAI) resurrected in the body of another darkspawn shortly thereafter.

It ended at The Battle of Silent Plains in -203 Ancient (just south of the city Solas, for those keeping track at home) and caused the explosion that gave the Silent Plains their name, for nothing could grow there in the ~1200 years thereafter.

To me, Dumat being first to whisper to the Magisters Sidereal bears similarities to Mythal whispering to Flemeth during the hour of Flemeth's greatest need. I believe she knew that unleashing a Blight was the only way to move her sundered spirit out of her archdemon — and into a living host on the surface.

We know that typically, during a Blight, a Grey Warden must be the one to land the killing blow on an Archdemon — and that, if successful, both the soul of the Warden and the soul of the Archdemon are destroyed.

We also know there is one way to circumvent this: by a Warden impregnating someone during a ritual that we learn from Flemeth. This results in a baby born that houses the soul of an old god — AKA, we now know from the DA:tV combat release video, a sundered piece of an Evanuris (presumably).

A mortal host, free of the Blight. Just what Mythal would want.

Enter: Andraste, born in -203 Ancient.

Part 3: From Silence, Justice. From Dumat, Andraste.

Firstly: look at that beautiful crown, people. That lovely crown in Dragon Age: Origins in the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Don't worry: we'll see it again and again and again in later games. :)

It's not just the year of Andraste's birth that makes me think she was born with Dumat's soul. I think her parentage is just as important to my understanding of her origins.

Namely, that her father may have married Andraste's mother, Brona, but also fathered a child with his advisor on matters of alchemy, who was said by Andraste to whisper of the old gods. I can find no record of anyone else in that time period who might have access to understanding of the ritual to create an old-god-imbued child from the slaying of an archdemon.

Now, you may be asking, How do we know that other daughter wasn't born with the soul of Dumat? Why Andraste, specifically?

The truth is: either daughter may have been born with the soul of Dumat. But crucially, only one daughter survived their childhood. And the circumstances of that death scream "weird magic" to me.

Andraste woke up one stormy night to find her sister following lights into the woods. She followed her sibling, after which an unspecified event of violence occurred. Halliserre was found dead in a burned clearing, having suffered wounds beyond weapons, while fires sparked throughout the forest. Andraste was found pale but alive, uncertain of what she had seen, and developed a sickness of the lungs that would prevent her from bearing children for a decade. [...] In the aftermath of the event, Andraste reported hearing voices and talked of strange auras and the sounds of bells. Several years later, Andraste began saying that heresy had played a part in her sister's death, suggesting that Halliserre's mother had been involved in worship of the Old Gods.

My theory is this: one of the sisters was born with the soul of Dumat. It does not matter which, since Flemeth was later able to remove an old god soul from a child in DA:I (more on that later), so we know that that magic is possible even in Andraste's time.

What we do know is that the surviving daughter, Andraste, reported hearing voices. She claimed a connection with the Maker.

But regardless of who was speaking to her in dreams and meditations after this moment, I believe it was Mythal whispering to her in that forest. And whatever happened, I believe that Andraste emerged not just with an old god soul, but another piece of Mythal. The same that would later travel into Flemeth, and then Morrigan.

Andraste went into that forest a child, old god soul or not. She came out the vessel for an Evanuris, holding knowledge that she had no idea how to comprehend.

And regardless of the events of her life, that soul would continue to travel after her death—into the souls of her daughters, the only children she ever bore herself.

Part 4: Andraste's Daughters

Andraste only ever had two children of her own: daughters Ebris and Vivial. I think Mythal influenced both girls from the beginning, because, "They were kept out of the public eye and not permitted to marry, though both had consorts."

In short: they could not marry, but they were allowed to bear children.

Following Andraste's death, I think Mythal's soul went into the first of these daughters: Ebris. It makes sense for her to have chosen the elder child, the one likely to be wiser and more experienced. But we know just one thing about Ebris:

Ebris had but one child, Alli Vemar, who perished on a voyage to Denerim—less than a month after her mother fell to plague, and without children of her own.

Ebris — Mythal's next choice for a vessel — died. Less than a month later, the one who I believe to have been Mythal's next choice for a host, Alli, perished on a voyage. And after Alli, there were no more children (nevermind daughters) in that line. No new hosts that were immediate descendants.

So where should Flemeth turn but Vivial? There was just one problem.

The younger daughter, Vivial, was more controversial: a strong-headed woman who defied her family by falling in love with a mage of Tevinter, Regulan. Vivial and Regulan went into self-imposed exile as the Exalted March began, and into hiding following Andraste's betrayal and murder.

Vivial had been in hiding since just after Andraste's murder. By the time Alli died, Vivial was gone. And her descendants?

What became of Vivial and her descendants is largely unknown for one primary reason: she had only daughters. Each of those daughters only had daughters. They married into other families and took other names, and in the chaos of the Second Blight, all traces of survivors were lost. Andraste's true bloodline, if it exists, lies solely in the descendants of Vivial.

Gone. All of the daughters of Andraste's daughters, and their daughters, and their daughters, were scattered across Thedas, all with different surnames.

If Mythal wanted to continue existing in living hosts, she would have to find them. And it would take hundreds of years.

Part 5: Heir and Spare... and Spare... and Spare...

It's only rumor that Flemeth was born in 3:00 Towers. Much of Flemeth, unsurprisingly, is rumor. But one thing, Morrigan confirms as true: she is Flemeth's daughter, and this means she is doomed to become a vessel for Flemeth one day.

But how did that begin? Legend says Flemeth was an abomination, harboring Vengeance, but this does not seem to be the full story. From the wiki:

Although Morrigan at first believed Flemeth to be an abomination, she later realized that Flemeth is not truly human. Flemeth herself reveals to The Inquisitor that the Fereldan legends of the Witch of the Wilds share one aspect that is true: Flemeth fled the Alamarri and asked spirits for help. Flemeth then admits that Mythal answered, and in exchange for fulfillment of Flemeth's request, she possessed her.

I believe Flemeth is the first of Vivial's descendants (that we know of) who reached out directly to Mythal in a way that would actually reach Mythal. I believe Mythal leapt at the chance to help Flemeth, in exchange for living within Flemeth.

And once the two were one and Flemeth understood Mythal's true aims, she would proceed to birth daughter after daughter to keep she and Mythal alive, all to pursue vengeance against (presumably) the Evanuris who killed her in the first place.

Part 6: The Morrigan of It All (and the Kieran of it all, too)

We know Morrigan is next in line for becoming Mythal's vessel. We know it for sure from the recent Veilguard release date trailer, but this has been a looming threat since Dragon Age: Origins. Morrigan admits this herself.

But I think there is more than that, because of the Kieran of it all.

I don't think Bioware are clumsy enough to write that in only some world states, the archdemon Urthemiel's soul still lives on. It would be impossible to properly bring into Veilguard if there was just sometimes an old god kid running around in a game all about vanquishing the threat of the Evanuris and their archdemons.

I think they knew this in Inquisition. In all Inquisition world states, if Kieran exists, Mythal removes Urthemiel's old god soul from his body. She says, "I am not the only one carrying the soul of a being long thought lost."

I posit that this is the reason for the "appointment" that Flemeth "had to keep" at the start of Dragon Age 2: that she was passing by Lothering on her way to Denerim, where she was going to do... something with Uthemiel's soul. If she arrives in Denerim and does not find it, she understands that only Morrigan can have done something about it, using Flemeth's grimoire.

What Mythal intended to do with Urthemiel's soul, we cannot possibly understand. In our impression of things, if the Warden or Alistair sacrificed themselves to kill Urthemiel, that should be it. Both souls should be erased.

But if that were truly the case, why would Solas be so afraid of the Grey Wardens attempting to find and slay the old gods in Inquisition? Wouldn't that be a good thing, to see them destroyed?

I think those old god/archdemon souls are lurking elsewhere — and I think Mythal might know where. Whether that means the other Evanuris have been doing more than we think they have since the Veil's creation remains to be seen.

How do I know? Because Mythal passed her soul onto Morrigan at the end of Inquisition, in that last scene with the eluvian, before Solas arrived (which was confirmed in a dev note, but I do not currently have the source for it). Once he did arrive, he took what power remained — but I believe it is Urthemiel, not Mythal's soul, that he took.

Part 7: Veilguard Predictions

Now, time for me to dump various things from my Veilguard bingo card. :) In no particular order:

I think we're going to realize that Solas is carrying around some of Urthemiel. Maybe.

If this is true, then I think we're going to see more of the Evanuris than just Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, and the others that we see might be hiding within mortals. Maybe even allies...

(Did someone say Bellara-Dirthamen? Dirthara? Me. I did. I wrote a post about some of it.)

I think Morrigan is going to confirm all of the Andraste-Vivial-Morriflemythal theorycrafting I've done above, and explain how this relates to the Tevinter Chantry.

If ALL of this is true, I think Morriflemythal (if not Emmrich/the Mourn Watch) might be our key to un-demoning Lucanis, as well as un-demoning Solas, and whoever the hell else needs un-demoning.

And, of course, a million other things that could happen!

If you got this far, thanks always for reading. And if I'm wildly off base or you have something to add, lemme know! <3

[chantalvonrosen]