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pynkhues · 4 months ago

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I would LOVE to read your analysis of louis as byronic hero as apposed to his reading as gothic heroine. lots of the latter and zero of the former in the fandom.

Sure! Mmm, okay, so –

What are we talking about when we talk about Gothic Heroes?

When we talk about gothic heroes, we’re really talking about three pretty different character archetypes. All three are vital to the genre, but some are more popular in certain subgenres i.e. your Prometheus Hero may be more common in gothic horror, whereas your Byronic Hero might be more likely to be found in gothic romance. That’s not to say they’re exclusive to those subgenres at all, and there is an argument that these archetypes themselves are gendered (in many ways, I think people confuse Anne being an author of the female gothic with Louis being a gothic heroine, but I’ll get into that later), but this is also not necessarily something that’s exclusive.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself, haha, so the three gothic hero archetypes are:

Milton’s Satan who is the classic gothic hero-villain. You can probably guess from the name, but he was originated in John Milton’s 1667 poem, Paradise Lost. He is God’s favourite angel, but God is forced to cast him out of heaven when he rebels against him. As an archetype, he’s a man pretty much defined by his pride, vanity and self-love, usually fucks his way through whatever book or poem he’s in, has a perverted, incestuous family, and a desire to corrupt other people. He’s also defined as being “too weak to choose what is moral and right, and instead chooses what is pleasurable only to him” and his greatest character flaw, in spite of all The Horrors, is that he’s usually easily misguided or led astray. (I would argue that Lestat fits into this archetype pretty neatly, but that’s a whole other post.)

Prometheus who was established as a gothic archetype by Mary Shelley with Frankenstein in 1818. Your Prometheus Hero is basically represented by the quest for knowledge and the overreach of that quest to bring on unintended consequences. He’s tied, of course, to the Prometheus of Greek myth, so you can get elements of that in this character design too in that he can be devious or a trickster, but the most important part of him is that he is split between his extreme intelligence and his sense of rebellion, and that his sense of rebellion and boundary pushing overtakes his intelligence and basically leads to All The Gothic Horrors.

And the Byronic Hero, who as the name implies, was both created by and inspired by the romantic poet, Lord Byron in his semi-autobiographical poem, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage which was published between 1812-1818. The archetype is kind of an idealized version of himself, and as historian and critic Lord Macaulay wrote, the character is “a man proud, moody, cynical, with defiance on his brow and misery in his heart, a scorner of his kind, implacable in revenge, yet capable of deep and strong affection.” Adding to that, he’s often called ‘the gloomy egoist’ as a protagonist type, hates society, is often self-destructive and lives either exiled or in a self-exile, and is a stalwart of gothic literature, but especially gothic romance. Interestingly too, in his most iconic depictions he’s often a) darkly featured and/or not white (Heathcliff being the most obvious example of this given Emily Bronte clearly writes him as either Black or South Asian), and b) is often used to explore queer identity, with Byron himself having been bisexual.

Okay, but what about the Gothic Heroine?

Gothic heroines are less delineated and have had more of an evolution over time, which makes sense, given women have consistently been the main audience of gothic literature and have frequently been the most influential writers of the genre too. The gothic genre sort of ‘officially’ started with Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel, The Castle of Otranto and Isabella is largely regarded as the first gothic heroine and the foundation of the archetype, and the book opens even with one of the key defining traits – an innocent, chaste woman without the protection of a family being pursued and persecuted by a man on the rampage.

The gothic heroine was, for years, defined by her lack of agency. She was innocent, chaste, beautiful, curious, plagued by tragedy and often, ultimately, tragic. Isabella survives in The Castle of Otranto, but she’s one of the lucky ones – Cathy dies in Wuthering Heights, Sybil dies in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Justine and Elizabeth both die in Frankenstein, Mina survives in Dracula, but Lucy doesn’t. There’s an argument frequently posited that the gothic genre was, and is, about dead women and the men who mourn them, and Interview with the Vampire certainly lends itself to that pretty neatly.

Of course, the genre has evolved, and in particular by the late 1800s, there was a notable shift in how the Gothic Heroine was depicted. The house became a place of imprisonment where they were further constrained and disempowered, she was infantilized and pathologized and diagnosed as hysterical, and as Avril Horner puts it in her excellent paper, Women, Power and Conflict: the Gothic heroine and ‘Chocolate-box Gothic’, gothic literature of this era “explores “the constraints enforced [by] a patriarchal society that is becoming increasingly nervous about the demands of the ‘New Woman’.”

This was an era where marriage was increasingly understood in feminist circles to be a civil death where women were further subjugated and became the property of their husbands. This was explored through gothic literature as the domestic space evolved into a symbol of patriarchal control in the Female Gothic.

Female Gothic vs Male Gothic

Because here’s the thing – the female gothic and the male gothic are generally understood to be two different subgenres of gothic literature.

While there are plenty of arguments as to what this entails, the basics is that the male gothic is written by men, and usually features graphic horror, rape and the masculine domination of women and often utilises the invasion of women’s spaces as a symbol of further penetrating their bodies, while the female gothic is written by women, and usually features graphic terror, as opposed to horror, while delving more specifically into gender politics. More than that though, its heroines are usually victimized, virginial and powerless while being pursued by villainous men.

The Female Gothic as a genre is also specifically interested in the passage from girlhood to female maturity, and does view the house as a place of entrapment, but she is usually suddenly “threatened with imprisonment in a castle or a great house under the control of a powerful male figure who gave her no chance to escape.”

That’s not Louis’ arc, that’s Claudia’s arc twice over, first with the house at Rue Royale, then with the Paris Coven, and Lestat and Armand aren’t the only powerful male figures who imprison her.

Claudia as the Gothic Heroine

Claudia in many ways is the absolute embodiment of the classic gothic heroine. Even the moment of their meeting is a product of Louis’ Byronic heroism – his act of implacable revenge against the Alderman Fenwick which prompts the rioting that almost kills her. She’s a victim of Louis’ monstrousness before they’ve even met, and while he saves her, he arguably does something worse in trapping her in the house with both himself and Lestat, holding her in an ever-virginal, ever-chaste eternal girlhood, playing into Lestat’s Milton-Satan by enhancing the perversion of family and ultimately infantilizing her out of his own desire for familial closeness.

Claudia has no family protection before Louis and Lestat – a staple of the gothic heroine – she is completely dependent on them in her actual girlhood, and again in adulthood, never developing the strength to be able to turn a companion, to say nothing about the sly lines here and there that further diminish and pathologise her (Lestat calling her histrionic, Louis making her out to be a burden, etc.). This is all further compounded again with the Coven, and when the tragedy of her life ultimately leads to the tragedy of her death.

Louis as the Byronic Hero

Not to start with a quote, but here’s one from The Literary Icon of the Byronic Hero and its Reincarnation in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights:

“Generally speaking, the Byronic hero exhibits several particular characteristics. He does not possess heroic virtues in the usual, traditional sense. He is a well-educated, intelligent and sophisticated young man, sometimes a nobleman by birth, who at the same time manifests signs of rebellion against all fundamental values and moral codes of the society. Despite his obvious charm and attractiveness, the Byronic hero often shows a great deal of disrespect for any figure of authority. He was considered "the supreme embodiment [...] standing not only against a dehumanized system of labor but also against traditionally repressive religious, social, and familial institutions" (Moglen, 1976: 28).

The Byronic hero is usually a social outcast, a wanderer, or is in exile of some kind, one imposed upon him by some external forces or self-imposed. He also shows an obvious tendency to be arrogant, cunning, cynical, and unrepentant for his faults. He often indulges himself in self destructive activities that bring him to the point of nihilism resulting in his rebellion against life itself. He is hypersensitive, melancholic, introspective, emotionally conflicted, but at the same time mysterious, charismatic, seductive and sexually attractive.”

Louis as he exists in the show to me is pretty much all of those things, and I think to argue that he’s a gothic heroine not only diminishes Claudia’s arc, but robs Louis of his agency within his own story. Louis chooses Lestat, over and over again, he’s not imprisoned by the monster in the domestic sphere, he is one of the monsters who’s controlling the household, including making decisions of when they bring a child into it and when Lestat gets to live in it – he wanted to be turned, he wanted to live with Lestat in Rue Royale, and while there are certainly arguments to be made about their power dynamic within the household in the NOLA era, importantly Louis actually gained social power through his marriage to Lestat, particularly through The Azaelia, he didn’t lose it in the way that’s vital to the story of the gothic heroine.

Daniel Hart even said it in a recent twitter thread about Long Face, but there is an element of Lestat and Louis’ relationship that is transactional, and to me, for that to exist, they both have to have a degree of control over their circumstances and choices in order to negotiate those transactions. Claudia is the one who can’t, she’s the one who’s treated effectively as property, and she’s the one who lacks control over her circumstances.

While you could perhaps argue the constraints of the apartment in Dubai lend more to the gothic heroine archetype, I’d argue it as furthering the Byronic trope again by being representative both of Louis’ self-destruction and self-imposed exile. As Jacob has said a few times, Louis does seem to have known to a degree that Armand was involved in Claudia’s death on some level, and it’s that guilt and misery that has him allowing Armand his degree of control. The fact that Louis was able to leave Armand as easily and as definitively as he was I think demonstrates that distinction too – after all, to compare that ending to Claudia’s multiple attempts to leave the confines of the patriarchal house, both in Rue Royale and Paris, which were punished at every turn – first by her rape, then by Lestat dragging her back off the train, and then by the Coven orchestrating her murder.

Louis gets to leave because Louis can leave, he has both the social and narrative power to, and the fact that he does is, to me, completely at odds with the gothic heroine. Louis can, and does advocate for himself, Louis is proud, moody, cynical. Defiance is a key part of his character, just as his exile from NOLA society due to his race, and his chosen rejection of vampire society in Paris, is. He’s intelligent and sophisticated, travels the world, and has misery in his heart, guilt that eats him up, and self-destructive tendencies. That’s a Byronic Hero, baby!

#i also agree with jacob when he says he has a lot more power in his relationship with lestat than he'd admit to #i also think the house in rue royale is both constraining AND liberating for louis #as he's able to live with a sort of honesty he couldn't in his mother's house #lestat wields a lot of power in it of course but louis does too #i could keep talking about this but i think that's probably enough for this morning haha #louis de pointe du lac #amc interview with the vampire #iwtv asks #claudia de pointe du lac #welcome to my ama

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nadas-dirthalen · 2 months ago

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I Saw Solas's Origin in an Achievement Icon and It Opened My Eyes on 15 Years of Lore

— PART SIX: if you haven't read previous parts, do it now! —

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ]

Welcome, friends and travellers! I wanted to get some thoughts recorded before Veilguard's release so I could see if I am right about an absolute BOATLOAD of theories I have.

In short: I saw the achievement list when it was released. I have seen the backstory hints for Solas included in said list. AND MY MIND WAS BLOWN.

You have been warned: THIS COLLECTION OF THEORIES INCLUDES SPOILERS FOR EVERY DRAGON AGE GAME AND ALL PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL UP TO AND INCLUDING OCTOBER 18, 2024.

Come sit down with me. Make a nice cup of tea (and hide it from Solas). We've got a lot of unpacking to do.

(no, this photo isn't the spoiler, I just like it.)

Today's Discussion: The Tragedy of the Evanuris (2/3)

— The Many Horrors Enacted Upon the Faithful —

As ever, please please pretty please go back and read the earlier parts of this series if you haven't already! I promise, there is a mountain of context that I don't reiterate in every post that I make, and I feel it is important for everything I say here and going forward.

Last post, we went over how the crimes/misdeeds of the Evanuris got their start: Mythal and her lyrium coffins, feeding dreams to spirits like Solas in order to turn them away from their Titans. From there, the experiments could begin: Elgar'nan with sundering the spirits that (I believe) would become Falon'Din and Dirthamen; Falon'Din then "blackening the heart" of a Titan. Crucially, all of these actions can be found symbolically represented by their corresponding vallaslin.

Bearing in mind that I don't want to guess at the specific chronology of all the Evanuris's deeds and crimes, I'm still going to sort these posts by gods, not by actions/year. This time, I want to talk about the crimes that continued from there as things began to spiral downward into incomprehensible horror.

Sylaise and the Scaled Ones

June, Architect of the Geas

Dirthamen: What Were His Secrets, and Where Is He Now?

If you're wondering where a certain very notable two Evanuris are on this list, don't worry: this post has three planned instalments. ;)

Sylaise and the Scaled Ones

Sylaise is known as the Heartkeeper in Dalish legend. She is a goddess of healing and knowledge. For a long time, I wondered what she could possibly have done to earn Solas's ire, for all the Evanuris are his mortal enemies. We know so little about her, don't we?

Let's start with what we do know.

It is Sylaise who gave us fire and taught us how to use it. It is Sylaise who showed us how to heal with herbs and with magic, and how to ease the passage of infants into this world. And again, it is Sylaise who showed us how to spin the fibers of plants into thread and rope.

Sylaise is clearly a goddess of fire and a healer and helper of the People, in Dalish legend. In this way, she gives me the same "vibes" as the Greek god Prometheus. Now, while I am no scholar on Greek mythology, I remember Prometheus as strongly associated with fire, and the creator of humans. I hadn't given much thought to the latter until now. But now, with the understanding that the Evanuris's crimes stem from the creation of the People?

I turned back to the Song to Sylaise, from the Temple of Mythal.

Sylaise, whose heat rivals Elgar'nan's light. Sylaise, whose temples rival Mythal's cities. Sylaise, whose breath rivals Andruil's spear. Sylaise, whose skill rivals June's craft. Sylaise, whose fire cannot be quenched. We give ourselves gladly to your service.

Let's draw connections between the Evanuris we have covered so far.

"whose heat rivals Elgar'nan's light" — now that we know that not only was Elgar'nan famous for his uncontrollable anger, but that he apparently sundered "the sun and the moon," I am wondering if this speaks not to Sylaise's potential anger, but her apparent affinity for forging and/or sundering spirits.

"whose temples rival Mythal's cities" — I always suspected this had to do with the population of Sylaise's temples, but before this month, before this spoilers, I had assumed those faithful had come willingly. That they were devotees who chose to live in her temples. What could be so bad about that? Well, now we know: Sylaise's temples rivaling Mythal's cities may well refer to how she created more people than Mythal.

"whose skill rivals June's craft" — we'll get to June in a moment, but I believe that June was crafting with lyrium, and that fits Sylaise in this context. Clearly she was shaping lyrium-spirits into something, and I believe this line says she did so with unparalleled mastery.

"Sylaise, whose fire cannot be quenched" — this shows me that the association with fire in Dalish legend holds true here, as well, albeit in a far more vicious light. That means, to find other references of Sylaise throughout the games and established lore, we should hunt for mentions of fire and the creation of people.

We need look no further than the Scaled Ones. Though they are chronicled as existing after the time of Ancient Elvhenan, I believe that they are Sylaise's invention: her armies stronger than Elgar'nan's, forged from something sturdier than skin; more populous than Mythal's; more well-crafted than June's (again, we'll get there).

We can also connect the Scaled Ones to the serpentine imagery present in Sylaise's vallaslin.

Torches would suddenly go out, leaving us to stumble though the dark and trip over discarded caravans. Then came the attacks, hard and fast. Father was one of the first. We heard breathing: slow and heavy, from a creature much larger than us. Father held out his arm and grabbed the front of my armor to make me stop. I saw its shadow move, darker than the darkness, and then my body jerked forward. It left Father's arm hanging, still grasping my chestplate.

The Scaled Ones had dominion over fire magic, it looks like: they could snuff out entire torches at a distance.

The Scaled Ones had set up a camp at an intersection in the Deep Roads. In the center there was a golden altar fashioned in the shape of fire. A chill swept through me. On the tip of each flame hung the corpses of those we'd lost—including Father and Drohg. They'd been drained of blood, leaving only bone wrapped in grey skin.

They also seem to worship this fire, which we know can still be associated with Sylaise outside of Dalish legend. They also seem to be harvesting the blood of those they've slain: in this case, dwarves. Blood magic, historically, is used to alter minds and to bind things. It could be that the Scaled Ones are keeping up with Sylaise's practice.

Or...

A robed Scaled One stood before the altar. Its voice was different from the others: softer, almost feminine. It chanted and raised a basin of blood towards the altar. The other Scaled Ones bowed low. The robed Scaled One produced fire from its palm and mouth and ignited the blood.

It could be that she lives on, somehow: a fire mage of unchecked power, with skin of the same scales that she forged in others. Watch for that in the post after next.

I still wish I knew more about Sylaise, and I wish I had time to go through everything I think about the Scaled Ones and their potential relationships with the kossith and/or Taash. But Sylaise's existence and the existence of the Scaled Ones do tell me that Ghilan'nain is far from the only Evanuris to have done biological experiments with her creations.

That sets a precedent for all the others, and I will continue to go on to describe why.

June, Architect of the Geas

For the little we know of Sylaise, we know even less of June. We know that he was the Dalish god of crafts, either husband or sibling to Sylaise (as much as the Dalish can even name the Evanuris's relationships accurately). The Dalish associate an unsolvable puzzle toy called "June's Knot" with him. The High Keepers of June seem to have been smiths.

I feel like this codex from the Vir Dirthara is trying to say the same thing:

The pages of this book—memory?—describe a heated argument between a group of well-dressed elves inside an elaborately arched pavilion on an island floating in a void. In the distance, haloed by a blizzard of light, thousands of elves are maintaining an elaborate magical ritual that pulls raw essence from the Fade, funneled into a sphere in the air. Through the lens of the sphere can be seen a world of indigo waterfalls and rust-red jungles, and a temple palace so frescoed and cleverly carved, it is a masterpiece in itself. The well-dressed elves' shouting grows so loud, it can be heard over the magic. One leaps at another, howling and pulling out a knife burning with prismatic flame. "Architects of the Grand Sonallium (a gift from Blessed Sylaise to Clever June as thanks for a great favor) in friendly debate over the color of the palace's roof trim."

However, he is never depicted with any of the tools that the Dalish associate with him. It's his architects who arguing here, one with a prismatic blade. Whether the blade belongs to June, there's more going on here than just common building and tool usage.

Rather than June's role changing over time, I think something else is true of June, and I see it when I look at his vallaslin.

Like the other Evanuris, he seems to have vallaslin designed reminiscent of lyrium branches. However, June's are all bent and woven very deliberately, in a more mechanical-looking fashion than Ghilan'nain's and Sylaise's. Even more important to me, though? They closely resemble Fenris's lyrium tattoos.

Considering that Fenris's slaver, Danarius, got the knowledge of how to embed lyrium beneath the skin from an "ancient treatise," it is possible that this knowledge was obtained from June's own notes. After all: in the codex with the Sonallium, has anyone made note of the thousands of slaves maintaining the magic around it?

Therefore, I believe June was the creator of the first geas, and the first vallaslin may have used geas magic to force the ancient elves into servitude.

To take it one step further and check my belief against other pieces of lore, I posit looking at one more source: the whisperings of June's archdemon.

I long wondered which archdemon might belong to June, but when I read the Chant of Light this week (again), I noticed something. The names of the archdemons' high priests are indicative, potentially, of which Evanuris they belonged to.

There is an Architect mentioned. Many of you may already be familiar with the name. The Architect is cited as the High Priest of Beauty: the old god of Beauty is cited in World of Thedas as being Urthemiel.

Per the Chant of Light:

The High Priest of Beauty, Architect of the Works of Beauty, designed Every work and wonder of the Imperium according to the plans of his god.

Remember how I mentioned that I believe the archdemons were puppeted by the Evanuris while they were imprisoned? This is no exception, and I'd like to draw attention to what the old god of Beauty whispered to his Architect.

And to him, Beauty revealed a grand plan: "Open the gates. And when you stand before me, I shall give you designs That shall rival the greatness of heaven. I will make you the First among the new gods, And you will build a paradise on earth."

To me, "designs that shall rival the greatness of heaven" should be interpreted in what the Evanuris would think of as greatness: limitless power, bending the very bounds of what should be physically possible, shattering common morality. When I read, "will make you First among the new gods," then, I cannot help but imagine the Architect of Beauty being given designs to help build an army of always-willing soldiers: ones operating under a geas. No great work would be impossible, in such an instance.

Thus, we have another facet in the tragedy of the Evanuris, the reason that all of them needed not just to be killed, but imprisoned, their works destroyed and never again recreated. Along with the ability to craft people with lyrium, to sunder spirits, and "blacken" the hearts of titans, the Evanuris used lyrium to create endless armies of seemingly "willing" slaves.

But even Urthemiel and his Architect were not first among the old gods or their followers. To understand the tragedy of the Evanuris and the complications in all of Solas's plans to stop them, we must look further into the Chant, and further into the Evanuris.

Silence, and his Evanuris: the Keeper of Secrets, Dirthamen.

Dirthamen: What Were His Secrets, and What Don't We Know?

I, like many others, assumed Dumat must be Elgar'nan's archdemon until a little while ago. But knowing Elgar'nan is alive and must still have his own, plus reexamining the Chant of Light and looking at DA:I with a more critical eye have shown me differently.

First among the Old Gods was Silence. His least whisper could end wars or topple Archons. A single word could turn recrimination into glory. The sacred fires of his temple burned Rare incense, and the trees of Arlathan, and lapped at the bones of slaves While his altars dripped with the blood of sacrifices that never dried.

Elgar'nan is not one to work with silence, nor whisper to topple an Archon. That doesn't seem like the way he would puppet an archdemon.

No mortal foot could tread those halls, No hand knocked upon the gate. Secrets beyond measure were the keys The Choir of Silence would need, and they had few. (7) And so the First Acolyte spoke to the High Priest And said: "We are the masters of secrets, But our god demands more.

Dirthamen is the Keeper of Secrets, and so I first looked to Dumat for clues on what, precisely, his worst deeds were. But then, the title hit me again. Keeper of Secrets.

What is a secret, I ask you, but a thought no one can know about? And in our understanding of the Evanuris, of spirits, and of Thedas itself, what is a thought but a spirit?

I dove into codices, because of course I did.

No beast is more beloved by Dirthamen than the bear. When the world was new, Dirthamen gave one secret to each creature to keep.

Let's rephrase this Dalish legend. Every time we read "secret," let us read "spirit." When we read, "gave one secret to each creature to keep," let us ask ourselves how it would sound with, "bound one spirit to each creature," therefore creating abominations.

The foxes traded their secrets to Andruil for wings. The hares shouted theirs to the treetops. The birds sold theirs for gold and silver.

It seems like this is describing what happened to each creature who gained Dirthamen's secrets. Foxes suddenly sprouted wings (sound like everyone's favourite Veilguard assassin to anyone?). The hares shouted theirs to the treetops.

Except, wait a minute, I know something about Dirthamen and trees.

He whispered into the mountains and the fallen trees of the forest gathered, shaping an immense and agile spider-like beast. It was the varterral. With lightning speed, vicious strikes, and venomous spit, it drove back the serpent. From then on, it was the guardian of the city and its people.

Whispered into the mountains sounds a lot like pulling "thoughts" from the mountains, or depositing "thoughts" into those mountains. Afterward, trees bend and warp around one another, forming the varterral.

Only the bears kept Dirthamen's gift, deep within their dens, they slept the months away in the company of their secrets and nothing else. When Dirthamen discovered what had been done with his gifts, he snatched the wings from the foxes, silenced the voices of the hares, and turned the birds into paupers. but the bears he honored for their steadfastness.

Bears, according to the wiki, can become enraged. Sounds a lot like something that might be possessed by Rage, no?

It did not stop at animals. We have the Temple of Dirthamen to look at, after all.

We few whisper here where shadow dwells. Some words remain unuttered. Truths are pushed down, down Where they shall never arise again.

Truths pushed down, down. Truths, like secrets, are based in thought. And when we think of thought with regard to Titans, spirits, and the Evanuris, we must think spirits. Spirits that are pushed down, down, never to rise again—because the priests of the Lost Temple of Dirthamen have committed to holding them.

Dirthamen is gone, he said. Our Highest One brings to us this gravest news. What shall we do? Where shall we go? What of the old secrets that burn within our hearts?

Our Highest One, he deceives us. The honeyed words that drip from his tongueWe know the despair they mask. We disciples of Dirthamen know truth, now as ever.

If we think about these priests as people who have been forced to harbor spirits, suddenly "the honeyed words that drip from his tongue / We know the despair they mask," takes on a whole new meaning. A capital-D Despair meaning.

Let's return, then, to the Conductor of Silence listening to his old god. The old god—puppeted by Dirthamen—required so many secrets that the priests did not know how to fulfill such a request. Masters of secrets, how could they possibly gain more? Well, now we know "secrets" and "spirits" to be interchangeable. The priests needed souls.

What happened next?

(2) In the Great Choir of Silence, the High Priests gathered. A hundred chosen acolytes brought lyrium Enough to drown a city in chiming silver And slaves beyond counting to the temple In accordance with the designs of their gods.

Lyrium and souls were brought to the temple. Lyrium, souls, and blood.

Only, the Magisters did not find Dirthamen, once they entered the Golden City.

(11) Above them, a river of Light, Before them the throne of Heaven, waiting, Beneath their feet The footprints of the Maker, And all around them echoed a vast Silence.

They heard him.

(12) But when they took a single step Toward the empty throne A great voice cried out Shaking the very foundations Of Heaven and earth:

We know that this is not the Maker. The Maker, by this time, probably exists in a sundered state, sleeping, as all Titans are. This has to be someone in the Golden City. Someone who, perhaps, knew the Magisters were coming.

(13) And So is the Golden City blackened With each step you take in my Hall. Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting. You have brought Sin to Heaven And doom upon all the world. (14) Violently were they cast down, For no mortal may walk bodily In the realm of dreams, Bearing the mark of their Crime: Bodies so maimed And distorted that none should see them And know them for men.

The Magisters were cast out, all of them blighted. But nothing could have attacked them, and we know from all the Dragon Age games that simply being around the blight isn't enough to get out protagonists sick with it.

Someone had to be there to inflict it upon them—someone who Corypheus, Conductor of Silence, would have been expecting to find, and dismayed to not be finding. He looked upon the throne of his god, after all, and found it empty.

Dirthamen is the only one of the Evanuris whose vallaslin has evolved over time. The first one evokes imagery of a broken gate on its forehead, surrounded by triangles: a symbol for the Veil.

The second, on Bellara, is newer—and not available to the player. Unique to her. It looks as though it features two birds on either side of a third eye. An all-seeing third eye.

We know a few things about Dirthamen, from all of this speculation. The "secrets" that Dirthamen kept were likely spirits and demons, which he bound to trees, animals, and people. His archdemon, Dumat, made demands on his behalf for endless "secrets" to get into the Golden City: endless spirits.

Dirthamen may have been the only one of the Evanuris to break free of his prison on his own, blighting the Magisters Sidereal.

But he would not be the only one to manipulate the blight, and he would not be the only one to escape his confines.

---

As ever, if you got this far, thank you!! I look forward to reading any additions or questions people might have, as ever!!

Also: I am trying my hardest not to consume full-game-review spoilers! As these reviews have just gone live today (10/28), I am not reading my notifications/replies, and am appearing here only to continue posting my theories.

But if you feel like sticking around anyway, stay tuned for: The Tragedy of the Evanuris pt. 3: Pestilent Doom Upon All the World.

#dragon age #veilguard spoilers #dragon age: the veilguard spoilers #datv spoilers #da4 spoilers #dragon age: the veilguard #da:tv #da:v #da4 #dragon age theory #dragon age meta #solas #solas dragon age #evanuris #sylaise #june #dirthamen

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