#SAVE ME FELASSAN

[binabees]

Slow Arrow

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[corseque]

Transferring a twitter Dragon Age 4 theory to tumblr:

This is a theory about the very latest DA4 information that people were upset to learn about because they want to wait for the game rather than hear too much, so look elswhere if that is you. I suspect that Rook is called "Rook" for a reason. I suspect their color is purple for a reason.

Rook is associated with trickery and death, a bad omen.

Hmm.... that reminds me a little of a "dread wolf."

I, for a long time, thought the game was called "Dreadwolf" because the main character would be taking on the trials and tribulations and responsibilities of the Dread Wolf onto their own shoulders. This suspicion has expanded hugely in my mind when I think about DA4 because what exactly is the story set-up, here? What is the Dread Wolf?

Solas, who is playing the role in the story of Dragon Age of an ancient trickster deity, has claim and power over the functions that trickster gods. Namely, power over doorways, thresholds, boundaries.

It doesn't matter what Solas thinks about godhood if he has all the trappings and power of godhood. There is no material difference in a fictional story.

(I love that Solas in the prologue is demonstrating exactly what you would expect from a Trickster God in this situation - manipulating boundaries, and then being Just a Little Guy.)

So the game prologue opens on Solas, a trickster god, delicately manipulating the magical boundary between worlds, which is something that you would expect a trickster god to do. Then unfolds a scene in which a tiny figure (Rook) causes a larger-than-life god (Solas) mischief and, with Rook's foolish meddling, undoes the very fabric of normalcy, trapping the trickster god and throwing the world into chaos, upsetting the very balance of power between the gods, threatening the end of the world.

Rook then recieves power over the Veil the trickster god has, the sacred knife that the trickster god wields, the ability to traverse back and forth between the boundaries only easily traversed by the trickster god, the magical mirror teleportation network of the trickster god, the magical floating Lighthouse home of the trickster god, the responsibilities of the trickster god, etc.

Rook also recieves the advice of the trickster god, whether they want it or not (it seems).

Do you see what I'm saying?

"They call me the Dread Wolf, what will they call you when this is over?"

I think this game may be about Rook becoming a trickster god.

As Felassan tells Briala in The Masked Empire, "[Becoming a god] is for the stories to decide."

Tricksters in folklore are very often mortal, human heroes. Very often, they act stupidly and foolishly (like we are said to do by interrupting Solas in the prologue) and somehow win anyway.

And what more powerful figure could there be, to fight with gods? Only a little guy like Solas or Rook, could hope to fight multiple gods and win. A little tiny trickster hero who makes foolish mistakes but is unkillable like Bugs Bunny is actually the perfect challenger to all-powerful deities.

Anyway, so if we get all of Solas' powers and his responsibilities, if we're, in a way, in training to become a trickster god. We may be stepping into myth and doing his job for him, disrupting things the way he does, and there will be comparisons. (the articles tell us that Solas is comparing himself to Rook, and that he doesn't like what he sees of himself in Rook). People always acted like Solas' situation was incredibly easy, but imo we could never actually understand what his story was, or see it from his point of view, enough to judge him. But if we actually walk in his shoes, then maybe we can actually have a part of the conversation. And later, maybe part of the myth.

The little Rook-bird that tugged the Dread Wolf's tail and let the creators free again, the little trickster Rook that destroyed or saved the world. I wonder what kind of trickster they will call us, when it is all over?

[rosieofcorona]

okay my darlings, i've seen a lot of takes on the AMA and this answer in particular:

and after mulling it over for a few days, i have decided to offer a scalding hot take for which i need you not to execute me marie-antoinette style, please 🙏🏻 (under the cut for length).

when epler said solas realized he doesn't have any "real regard" about the lives and goals of the elves, i didn't take it to mean that he is apathetic. i took it to mean the exact opposite, really. here's why. solas loves his people. incontrovertibly. he cares very deeply about their freedoms, about their existence, about what he's done to hurt them, intentionally or not. truth be told, it's kind of his whole thing. but their motivations are, as epler said, likely to be very different. solas always has very big picture goals. he wanted to free an entire people in arlathan. he wants to restore an entire people in thedas. and his followers, for their part, might agree with those larger goals. but their personal goals are likely not so large-scale. an elf or a spirit in arlathan might wish for simpler things for themselves. the freedom to choose their own path, their own fate, their own purpose. to keep themselves safe, to live in peace. to not serve all their lives under tyrants. an elf in modern thedas might want the same. to live without circles, or alienages, or clans. to not be derided or scorned or punished in societies that were built up around them, sometimes by their own labor. and solas wants to get them there, because he loves them. he does. but he cannot love them all as individuals (or as epler said, via "formal connections,") because it would be impossible. to save The People™ requires sacrifice, and solas knows this. all revolutions have martyrs, and solas knows this. individual goals, always, are dwarfed by the good of the cause, and solas knows this. and this, i think, is where he realizes that he would be doing them a disservice by using them as tools, even willing tools. that he would be robbing them of their lives and their own motivations by allowing them to continue in his service. when epler said that solas' rebellion turned him from being a leader, I took that to mean that solas learned from what happened in arlathan, with the spirits that he and felassan brought into battle. he loved them, too, and they died for him, and for his greater good. it was never malice or apathy against the individuals. it was what had to be done to accomplish his goals on a much grander scale. i think solas realized, near the end of his plans, that he could not continue to consider the elves as The People™, but as people- as full and separate lives, each with goals and needs and loves and purposes of their own. and yes, they chose to follow him, and yes, they may be sympathetic to said greater good. but he knows how many individuals have died in his name, even if they believed in what they were doing. solas has been through all this before. he knows the costs firsthand, where these people likely do not, not truly. he's seen the loss and the grief that comes after revolution, and he doesn't want that for them. because he loves them, both as his People and as his people. he doesn't want their lives reduced to his purpose, which will override their own unless he gives up his power. it's an act of love, to me, that he realizes this. an act of love to let them go, which the evanuris could never do.

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Fermented Fruit Juice

I saw a post a while ago talking about how Varric ended up "winning" against Solas, and really liked it. I've been revisiting a lot of Inquisition dialogue lately and found perhaps my favorite conversation between the two when it comes to highlighting their ideological differences. It also foreshadows why Varric "wins" at the end of Veilguard (within the confines of the endgame choices we're given) even in death.

The crux of it: Varric lives in a world in which his very existence is an act of resistance, while Solas sees resistance as a trial that must be endured to get desired results.

As always, once I get started I'm sure this will be very long, but I love that we got the chance to see a very rare instance in which Solas concedes a point to one of his companions.

Solas: Once, in the Fade, I saw the memory of a man who lived alone on an island. Most of his tribe had fallen to beasts or disease. His wife had died in childbirth. He was the only one left. He could have struck out on his own to find a new land, new people. But he stayed. He spent every day catching fish in a little boat, every night drinking fermented fruit juice and watching the stars.

Varric: I can think of worse lives.

Solas: How can you be happy surrendering, knowing it will all end with you? How can you not fight?

Varric: I suppose it depends on the quality of the fermented fruit juice.

As always with Inquisition dialogue, I am obsessed. But this moment does such a great job of laying out the fundamental building blocks of each character.

Solas comes right out of the gate and lets us know who he is. He is united with the man living in the ruin of all that his life used to be.

Solas, too, is living alone in a world where all he once knew has been taken from him. Before his sleep he had a master to serve, and then a rebellion to lead. He fought, he was relentless; his people were suffering but they were whole. There were opportunities to find comfort, familiarity, or even just a new normal amongst new lands and people, but he rejected them (I think perhaps this is best shown through the murder of Felassan/the plot of the Masked Empire). Now, he lives as much as he possibly can in the fade and waits for his opportunity to restore the world he believes he ruined in his quest to save it (imprisoning the Evanuris through the creation of the veil).

Varric, conversely, has been tearing his way through this (to Solas) new world his entire life. I also think it's worth noting that his attitude is probably an absolute smack in the face to Solas, who knows what the dwarves once were and is responsible for the loss of their dreams and the ruination of the titans. But Varric doesn't need to know what was lost in order to know what an uphill battle he faces in Thedas as a dwarf. And fuck, he's from Kirkwall, he knows exactly how much worse life can get than a quiet existence with food, drink, and the stars for company.

But because these two have such a cool dynamic of agree-to-disagree/mutual admiration for each other, Varric thinks the story over and renews the discussion.

Varric: What's with you and the doom stuff? Are you always this cheery or is the hole in the sky getting to you?

Solas: I've no idea what you mean.

Varric: All the "fallen empire" crap you go on about. What's so great about empires anyway?

Varric: So we lost the Deep Roads, and Orzammar's too proud to ask for help. So what? We're not Orzammar and we're not our empire.

Varric: There are tens of thousands of us living up here in the sunlight now, and it's not that bad.

Varric: Life goes on. It's just different than it used to be.

Solas: And you have no concept of what that difference cost you.

Varric: I know what it didn't cost me. I'm still here, even after all those thaigs fell.

God I love what the dialogue in these games used to be. There's so much I could talk about, but I think what I want to focus on is the idea of empire being so smoothly fitted in to the discussion.

Varric, knowing Solas isn't fully satisfied with his answer, ruminates and comes back swinging. This is also where I'll add that part of the reason I think Varric throws Solas so badly is because he's what Felassan could have been with more time to form his arguments. When Solas made the choice to take Felassan's game piece off the board, our favorite slow arrow was just coming to terms with the idea that there is beauty in taking what an imperfect world offers you and making the best of it. Varric is comfortable in this viewpoint, and Solas can't just kill him on a mission or at Skyhold. He has no choice but to hear the argument he fights to ensure he doesn't have to hear.

And damn, what an argument. Without meaning to, Varric cuts to the quick of what has been haunting Solas. You cannot snap your fingers and re-establish Empire as it once was. Orzammar has cordoned itself off from the rest of the world, does not ask for help, and clings to an ever-crumbling old order. Even if you tried, too much has changed. Dwarves are not what they once were, and more and more have returned to the surface. Life goes on. It's just different than it used to be. And Solas has never been able to confront that possibility.

True to form, he pushes back. But why not give it a try? Why take what you've been given when you could wrest what you've been denied from the hand that holds it? How can you do nothing?

Solas: You truly are content to sit in the sun, never wondering what you could’ve been, never fighting back?

Varric: Ha, you’ve got it all wrong, Chuckles. This is fighting back.

Solas: How does passively accepting your fate constitute a fight?

Varric: In that story of yours—the fisherman watching the stars, dying alone—you thought he gave up right?

Solas: Yes.

Varric: But he went on living. He lost everyone, but he still got up every morning. He made a life, even if it was alone.

Varric: That’s the world. Everything you build, it tears down. Everything you’ve got, it takes—and it’s gone forever. The only choices you get are to lie down and die or keep going. He kept going. That’s as close to beating the world as anyone gets.

Solas: Well said. Perhaps I was mistaken

And then Varric hits him with it: a life alone is still a life. There is nothing that time will not take from us. What Solas fails to understand (and we can blame this on his pride, on his crusade he cannot lay down until he is free of his duty to Mythal, or his straight-up sentimentality) is that if Elvhenan hadn't fallen through the actions of the Evanuris and those he took to stop them, it would have been something else. Life is a wailing gnashing unrelenting song that will never be satisfied and can never cease dragging all that falls before it into its maw in the hopes that finally something will be enough. When it tears something down, your only choices are to "lie down and die or keep going." And again, as a Kirkwall survivor, Varric knows this. An occupying force remove your political leader? Quell the violence and try again. The chantry explodes? Save the city's mages from their bloodthirsty jailer and make sure there's a tomorrow where you can fight to fix it.

We know this doesn't dissuade Solas, the burden he's placed upon himself it too great, the ways that war has shaped him have scarred deep. Part of the tragedy of Solas is how he's been walking the dinan'shiral so long that he is incapable of turning around. Every step he takes has sent sharp rocks cutting into his feet, and it would kill him to turn around and see just how little of a distance he's covered. He cannot let go of resistance as a concentrated action, as fighting until there's nothing left but ruination.

But it is no small feat on Varric's part to get the Dread Wolf himself to concede a point. And a step further than that, Solas respects his friend, and respects the life he's built amongst the scraps of what once was. I don't doubt for a minute that Varric was a key part of why Solas was able to start seeing the world around him as a little more real.

And then of course we get Veilguard.

It is here that Solas dooms himself.

"You came a long way and made a valiant effort, Varric, but this story does not end with my downfall."

But it does. Because even if Varric, like Felassan, is taken off the table, Rook endures. And what is Rook in this game if not the very continuation of Varric's fighting spirit: an absolutely untested newbie who through miracle after miracle (regardless of the issues I may take with that) is the very portrait of "But he went on living" ?

Varric may not get to be the one to talk Solas down at the very end of the game after Mythal waves her hand and unleashes her second-in-command, but by delaying long enough to stop the ritual, by refusing to give up on his friend that stares at the stars every night with nothing but his fermented fruit juice for company, he ensured someone would be around who could.

In one of the less kind endings that person is Rook, dragging themselves into the fade with Solas out of sheer spite or sending him there against his will. In the kinder endings, it is the Inquisitor, letting their friend/heart know that at last, merely surviving another day is enough. And I like to think that it is within those kinder endings that Solas thinks of Varric each time he works to soothe the titan's dreams and make life just a little better for the tens of thousands living in the sunlight. Perhaps, in this world where he is finally free, he appreciates the gravity of ensuring others have a chance to keep living in a world that is hell-bent on taking. Maybe he even finds a cup of that fermented fruit juice in the fade, sits with his feet dangling over an endless abyss, and drinks to his friend's honor.

I'll leave y'all with a final bit of dialogue I love.

Solas: Do you ever miss life beneath the earth? The call of the Stone? Varric: Nah. Whatever the Stone - capital S - is, it was gone by the time my parents had me. Solas: But… do you miss it? Varric: How could I miss what I never had? Varric: But say I did have that sense, that connection to the Stone. What would it cost me? Varric: Would I lose my friends up here? Would I stop telling stories? Varric: I like who I am. If I want to hear songs, I'll go to a tavern. Solas: You are wiser than most.

RIP Varric Tethras, an absolute fucking baddie who forced Fen'harel himself to part with just a smidge of his pride and recognize someone that reminded him of what he once was--wiser than most--and in the subtext of this conversation, wiser than a pining spirit of wisdom himself.

[pinacoladamatata]

transcribing some codex letters.... Spoilers, obviously.

all the letters i've found from Felassan (not counting the ones that actually save in the codex, these are the ones found around the crossroads.) bc i want the text easy to copy for reasons

An Unknown Artifact

What are the Crossroads doing? "The spirits of the Crossroads do as they must, Felassan. As do we all." Thank you, Solas. That's incredibly useful. Really helps your old friend pull together a rebellion against the Evanuris. -Felassan

The Blighted Tree

This is a holy place. The tree draws strength from the earth, just as the first elves did. Some younger elves grow trees in the cities to honor their ancestors. Roots have a tendency to dig down and gnarl up, then twist around things they aren't supposed to, though. Hoping that metaphor doesn't stick. -Felassan

The Cathedral of roots

When we first started, this was a safe place for spirits who joined our cause to find peace from the stress of battle. Now… I don't know. Not a lot of spirits use it any longer. Have they grown stronger, or has the fight against the Evanuris made demons of us all? -Felassan

Mirrors upon Mirrors

This place is amazing. June's normal eluvians function with twinned lyrium fragments. One always leads to another. Solas somehow talked the crossroads into making Fade-eluvians that override them. His own network to run our rebellion. Provided you ignore all the old stories about holding mirror up to mirrors and getting caught in the infinite reflections. -Felassan

A refuge for Mythal

Solas always thought Mythal would join us eventually, that she was better than the rest of the Evanuris. He made this place so she'd be comfortable here once she joined the rebellion. Now it's too late. Solas has sealed this place off out of grief. He won't let me in. I'm sorry, my friend. There was something left for the war to take from you after all. -Felassan

Calm before the storm

I come here sometimes when I need to be myself. Not Solas's friend Felassan. Not the slow arrow of the rebellion. Just me. He hasn't been right since what happened with Mythal. He's planning something with the dagger. And if it were a good idea, he'd have told me. Damn it, Solas. I'm with you as long as we're protecting the innocent from the powerful, but you make it hard sometimes. -Felassan

The Empty Forest

This place used to be full of spirits who flocked to Solas's cause. When his ritual went wrong- when everything went wrong- he vanished, and the spirits stopped coming. Where are you, my friend? You stopped the Evanuris, but broke the world. Please tell me you didn't leave me to fix all this alone. -Felassan

[felassan]

Game Informer:

"Bespoke Armor, Transmog, And Other Aspects Of Gear In Dragon Age: The Veilguard by Wesley LeBlanc on Jul 04, 2024 at 04:00 PM Dragon Age features a ton of different customization options. Just within the character creator, there are hundreds of options to customize things like hair, body type, what your playable character Rook's face looks like, and so much more. There are also a ton of armor options, too.  Companions have an armor slot, a ring slot, an accessory slot, and a weapon slot, while Rook has access to even more – a helmet, two weapon slots, a belt, an amulet slot, and two ring slots. A belt having its own slot might sound odd as it's not an armor piece people typically think of when kitting out an RPG warrior. However, the belt is an important facet of Rook's kit. The better Rook's belt, the better the potency of their healing potions, which are replenished by destroying green pots scattered about the world. That's not all, though, as higher-quality belts can proc [editor's note: proc is a term used as a shorter way of saying "programmed random occurrence"] additional effects like momentary invulnerability."

"When creating your character, you can immediately view aspirational armors, which won't play into Rook's class until the "mid-to-late game," according to game director Corinne Busche. You can also toggle Rook's starting gear and casual wear in the creator, giving you a pretty good look at how Rook will look in more laidback cutscenes, in combat, and how they might appear later in your Veilguard journey. Busche tells me a lot of the gear in Veilguard is bespoke to your Rook or their followers, which is to say, an armor piece for a Warrior-class Rook probably won't be in a chest for a Mage-class Rook. On a similar note, armor designed for companion Bellara Lutara can't be used for another companion like Lace Harding. In just my few hours viewing Busche play the game as part of my visit to BioWare's Edmonton office for our current Game Informer cover story, I see a lot of armor to collect from things like chests scattered about Arlathan Forest, for example, and elsewhere. Some of it looks awesome, and some of it doesn't quite line up with my personal taste. That's how it goes in the genre of RPGs. However, Busche tells me there is transmogrification, or transmog for short, in the game, and calls it "robust." This means you can take an armor's stats and apply it to a different piece of armor. In other words, if you have a really cool piece of armor you like and find a new piece with better stats but don't want to give up the look of your current armor, you don't have to. Transmog allows you to take that new armor's stats and apply them to your current armor, giving you all the benefits while keeping the visual style you prefer.  Transmog isnt just for Rook, though; you can transmog armor and other things for your companions as well. I don't get to see how Veilguard's transmog system works in-game, but just knowing it exists allows me to rest easy knowing my Rook will look as fashionable as possible while saving Thedas. For more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features, and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below."

[source]

Felassan's cliff notes section of post:

There is a ton of armor options

Companions have an armor slot, a ring slot, an accessory slot and a weapon slot

Rook has access to more: helmet, 2 weapon slots, belt slot, amulet slot and 2 ring slots

The belt is an important part of Rook's kit. The better the belt, the better the potency of their healing potions. Also, higher quality belts can proc (programme random occurrence) additional effects such as momentary invulnerability

Healing potions are replenished by destroying green pots found in the world

In CC, you can view aspirational armors which won't play into Rook's class til mid to late game, and toggle Rook's starting gear and casual wear. This allows you to see in CC what Rook would look like in different situations throughout the game

A lot of gear is bespoke to Rook or their followers, "which is to say, an armor piece for a Warrior-class Rook probably won't be in a chest for a Mage-class Rook".

Armor designed for one companion can't be used by another

There is lots of armor to collect from things like chests scattered around Arlathan Forest, for example, and elsewhere

The game's transmog system is robust and allows you to take an armor's stats and apply it to a different one. You can take a new armor's stats and apply them to Rook's current one

Armor and other things can be transmogged for companions too

[source]

[treviso-nights]

can you elaborate more on your thought process here?

“in a shocking and completely predictable turn of events, felassan is actually the revolutionary solas thinks he is”

yes! (forewarning: so many ppl on here are actual analytic geniuses and i am 10000% no such thing.)

so, to me, solas thinks of himself as an anti-hero when i would say he's an anti-villain. he reads himself as "tragic" but ultimately thinks of his goal as "good", and will proselytize even the most uninterested party (such as varric, sera, and iron bull) in demeaning and often racist ways (for example, see solas repeatedly calling the qunari "savages" and "brutes" to iron bull's face).

he is quick to abandon, betray, and kill anyone as long as he deems it necessary, and imo, there is a profound lack of loyalty and integrity "true" abolitionists/revolutionary leaders need to possess. after all, despite a lot of people ignoring epler telling us that solas abandoned his army of freed elves (and fine, that's fair since this is all fiction anwyay) bc he realized he wasn't "management material", i personally think it's a perfect characterization of who solas actually is—that of a distorted, warped spirit who no longer resembles his original ideal but attempts to convince himself and those around him that his ultimate purposes are still that ideal... which is why i think felassan is such a nice counterpart to this idea—

bc in veilguard, when we see flashbacks of felassan's growing alarm of solas's disregard for the lives of their soldiers, he is unwilling to part with his friend out of a sense of loyalty and general hope that the ends will justify the means. ironically, i think felassan was saved from corruption by solas entering uthenera because this could've easily led to him forever excusing away solas's actions, just as solas did for mythal for thousands of years.

so now we have felassan, wandering the world and watching it evolve first-hand in a way which the ancient elves did not get a chance to do. idk if we ever got confirmation that he also entered uthenera at some point (if we did, i missed it), but in time, he got to bond with the "modern" elves in an authentic manner which solas decided was counterintuitive after waking (although how he ever thought walking up to a dalish clan and pronouncing his godhood was EVER a good idea is beyond me, tho i forget if that was actually the case or if i'm making that shit up), leading him to come to the conclusion that the elves are actually people after all, which solas could not do without help from the inquisition.

i could keep going, but basically, felassan's capacity to form and experience real friendships (and not rely on abandonment, manipulation, or outright murder as a foundation or last resort for those friendships), TEACH (not convince) those willing to learn (instead of proselytizing), and evolve his own personal perspectives (and then stay ACCOUNTABLE to those perspectives and act in alignment with them), are all antithetical to the actions we see solas take in inquisition, trespasser, and veilguard. only when you trick him in veilguard's ending scene does he begin to understand his own foolishness (tho i have no doubt he will never understand the depth of that foolishness unless he sheds his mortal body and somehow regains his true essence) because even if you choose to redeem him, he ignores rook's/the inquisitor's pleas to just stop until mythal comes out to "release him" from his service. (which i'm sure he would also use to excuse his actions.)

to me, felassan is the archetype of the empathetic, considerate, loyal, and steadfast revolutionary. not solas. his ability to learn, trust others, and take responsibility for his actions are what makes me think so. and i wish we got to see more of him in veilguard :(

[mythals-whore]

I am not a Solas hater, let me start there. I actually love Solas’s character. He’s very complex and very tragic.

HOWEVER.

I’ve been seeing so much of this narrative spreading that “Solas was right the whole time” or that he was “trying to help”

Earlier today i saw a post saying that Solas was presented with the trolley problem but with mass amounts of people on either track. And while i suppose that’s not necessarily wrong, I’d like to add a caveat to that: the people on the one track, the ancient elves that he is trying to save? They’re already dead. THAT is Solas’s trolley problem. And its tragic in it’s own way. But Solas is essentially willing to kill thousands of people to try and revive the dead bodies lying on the other track.

It’s sad, yes. And he feels a mass amount of guilt over it. But that doesn’t make it right. What he is trying to save has already been lost. And that is what people try to tell him over and over again. Felassan, Mythal/Flemeth, potentially the Inquisitor. But he won’t listen because then that means that he failed.

The overarching story /theme of Veilguard is learning to live with regret. Is knowing that everything didn’t go perfectly, but you were playing the hand you’ve been dealt. Its why, in this game, you cannot save both Minrathous and Treviso. There is no right call for who to lead the distraction team. AND SOLAS TELLS YOU THIS. He tells you over and over that there will be sacrifices, that fighting gods requires it—but he cannot live with the sacrifices he had to make.

So i submit my argument that really, Solas isn’t even doing it for the ancient elves, or for the spirits, or whatever else you think. He is doing it because he cannot live with his mistake.

I actually have so much more to say, but I’m going to call it here.

[crossdressingdeath]

One thing I will say for the ending of DAV is that it's made one thing from Trespasser that always confused me a bit finally make sense: the fact that Solas spares even low approval Quiz. Like, the fact that he does that means that affection clearly doesn't come into that decision! He may be nicer about it if he likes Quiz, but he's not sparing them because he likes them. But it makes a lot more sense in the context of him making an enemy of Rook and then leaving them alive when he meets them in Minrathous, just assuming that they'll do what he wants and not get in his way and being completely blindsided by them tricking him even though they have no reason to just go along with what he says. At the end of the day Solas just... doesn't respect either Rook or Quiz enough as equals to see them as a potential threat, and that both explains him sparing Quiz and ultimately leads to his downfall.

I mean, think about it. He killed Mythal. He killed Felassan. Clearly he is not above killing even the people he loves best, the very last remnants of the world he's supposedly in this to save at that, if their survival might get in the way of his plans! You can talk about how much he cares for high approval Quiz, or even how much he loves Lavellan in a Sol@vellan (censored to keep it out of the tags) worldstate, but love demonstrably would not stop him if he determined Quiz to be a threat! He does not love them more than Mythal (he really, really doesn't love them more than he loves Mythal, Christ on a bike the amount of shit he does for Mythal and then refuses to accept her culpability for the fallout of is insane), he does not love them more than Felassan, he does not have more reason to spare them when they say they're going to stop him (whether peacefully or by force) than he did those two, but he still does even if he hates them. Now Solas doesn't like killing (he just has no concept of what counts as actual necessity or willingness to stop when he's going to kill most of Thedas), so it makes sense he wouldn't want them dead if he could avoid it, but if he saw them as a threat he would not spare Quiz where he didn't spare Mythal or Felassan. He's not going to spare a Quiz he hates who's vowing to stop him at all costs where he killed the last remnants of the world he wants to save... unless of course he doesn't think they actually can stop him.

And him not thinking they can stop him makes sense when you consider his response to Rook, who breaks out of a prison Solas thought was inescapable and by Solas's own admission gets further in dealing with the Evanuris than Solas ever could have himself; he still just completely dismisses them as a real threat, takes no steps to prevent them from turning on him, has no plan for if they find out what killing Elgar'nan will do, and is caught completely off-guard if they trick him with a fake dagger. He sees Rook surpass his every expectation and do better than he himself ever could have, and he still completely fails to realize that they do in fact pose a threat! I do believe that he on at least some level can grow to respect and even care for Quiz and Rook as people who exist, but he always thinks he is ultimately above them. He totally fails to see them as potential threats, and that's what ultimately leads to his downfall: if he'd preemptively killed Quiz at the end of Trespasser, or killed Rook the second Elgar'nan fell and they were no longer needed, or even just made any sort of plan for what to do if either or both of them were in fact the threats they made it clear they intended to be he might very well have won! But his unbridled arrogance and refusal to accept that a mortal could ever outdo the Dread Wolf ultimately gets him locked in the Fade (including the ending where he goes willingly, which only happens because Rook faces down yet another god to make it work). It's a very fitting end for someone who muses about the parallels between him and Elgar'nan and him and Rook and fails to consider what it might mean for him when Rook fully steps into his place in the narrative.

[jean-dieu]

Dragon age the Veilguard: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Don't expect too much there, I'm just writing my own subjective, non-organized, badly written critic of the game. Spoilers ahead, so be warned!

The Good is the good stuff, The Bad is the bad stuff that aren't too jarring or that don't threaten the whole setting so much so it's okay to just ignore them, and The Ugly is the bad stuff that DO make me want to fucking die and explode.

The Good:

-It's beautiful. Not a fan of a lot of design choices but it's obviously well made. The landscapes are very pretty.

-The character creator. It's always funny to me when I see some dudebros complaining about it as if they're not purposefully making ugly characters. It has quite a lot of option, nice skin details, scars, tattoos and all.

-I really like the combat. I still think DAO is the superior system but I'm much more happy with a true action rpg than whatever Inquisition was trying to do.

-I'm going to be more objective there and say the maps are better than Inquisition. THAT BEING SAID I love the Hinterlands so I still prefer Inquisiton's bloated open world lmao.

-There's a lot of nice details all around! Neve's metallic prothesis walking sound, the decorations all around, tears in character's eyes, ect.

-Solas. Can't believe I'm saying it as I didn't like him much in DAI and I don't like Solavellan but DATV made me like him very much. He's much more morally grey and less uwu wet cat and I'm here for that. Excellent voice acting of course.

-Mythal. Again, I love whatever Solas and Mythal have going on. It's toxic, it's passionate, it's one sided, and Mythal is a very interesting character IMO.

-Felassan. Again, such a cool and compelling character.

-A lot of NPCs were very cool. Antoine who's singlehandly saving the French's reputation, Evka, The Viper, Strife, Viago, Teia, etc. They're cool and rather compelling.

-I did enjoy a lot of the companion's personal quests. Davrin and Bellara especially as they felt more in line with Dragon Age in general.

-For a game where the Bad Guys are Comically Evil... Johanna Hezenkoss fits the bill and yet she's a delight.

-There's really cool codex entries. Irelin's letter about mourning Arlathan for example. Antoine's letter to Evka should he ever be Called.

-Ghilahn'ain's design.

-I liked the living Blight! OK the darkspawns were ugly af but I still really enjoyed the idea.

-I actually liked the puzzles lmao? I'm sorry but I usually find puzzles fucking annoying in that type of game so I'd rather have something easy and fun than scratching my head in a rpg.

-I was glad to see Valta again!

The Bad: (vaguely in order of importance)

-Unpopular opinion but Assan and Manfred felt forced af. Yeah I got it, they're cute... Now can we go back on uh, the apocalypse.

-The music is boring. Fuck man Inquisition and Origins musics make me cry, but Veilguard's main them... Exists.

-I would prefer the companion to be stationary and being able to talk to them whenever want. They tried something but it didn't deliver.

-The fuck is Inky wearing.

-The fuck is Isabela wearing, but racist edition. Oh well. At least it's an easy fix with a mod.

-The companions have potential but they often lack something. I wish we got more than Lucanis liking coffee. Also, some characters concept from the art book felt so much more interesting. The only character I REALLY was interested in was Davrin because he feels very dragon age-y. A Dalish Grey Warden! That's interesting!

-The Lore seems alright and coherent with the serie so far, but it was just lore drops after lore drops, with no time for reactions, and your companions being sometimes waaaaay too chill about it.

-The overall sanitazing of the world while the grim stuff still somehow being there regarding Tevinter. It's very close to be in the Ugly category but because it's supposed to be there, I'm encline to believe it's still canon and not a retcon, and just a poor presentation. Where are the slaves? We see some of course, and some stuff were legitimately jarring... But because we're confined in docktowns, we don't get to see the ruling magisters and slavers. Docktowns almost seem... Nice. But it doesnt stop there. The Lords of Fortune not stealing artifacts because they respect cultures. The Crows being patriotic vigilantes. Lucanis being a mage killer but only for evil tevene magisters.

-I understand the impossibility to be Evil as you're recruited by Varric and he wouldn't have recruited the local serial killer that drowns kitties for fun. But... You should be able to be aggressive, stern, serious and all. You should be able to play a no-nonsense character who is authoritative and assertive while still following the plot.

-Again, I understand the companions being healthier than whatever DA2 crew had going on (love them tho) but it should have been more like Inquisition. People working together and forcing themselves to make it work for the sake of the world YET fighting and disagreeing on plenty of subjects. And Rook should be able to tell the companion to stfu sometimes. To tell Taash that they're an ass. To tell Emmerich you don't give a shit about his magic and that Manfred is fucking weird and shouldn't exist. To tell Bellara to stop whining.

-On the same note, the companions are all WAY too nice. One their own they're alright, but none of them have some true flaws/secrets/dark past/opposing convictions or whatever. Davrin and Lucanis are almost the only one who are arguing and fighting a bit but it's very tame. We never hear them arguing over politics, religion, or even ways of doing things (except for food lol. why is this game so much about food). If you take Inquisition for example, the companions are ALL working together in the face of a Ancient Evil threatening Thedas. Yet, they still argue about plenty of things. Solas and Iron Bull about the Qun. Vivienne and Solas about the existence of Circles. Varric and Cassandra's fighting is ruthless even when it's about nothing important. Try to show your pride as a Dalish to Sera and she won't take it well. Tell Cassandra that you don't give a shit about the Chantry and she'll disapprove. And still, these persons managed to work together. The excuse of "They put their differences aside because of the current threat" doesn't hold. The companions don't necessarily need DA2's level of animosity between them, but they don't need to all be best friends forever second one. Bellara could be suspicious of Neve for the sole reason of her being a Tevinter Mage. Lucanis too ("Mage Killer"!!!), but because he doesn't trust magic at all. Davrin and Bellara could argue about what it means to be Dalish to them, or argue about their faith!! EVERYONE Should be more worried about Lucanis being an abomination, damn it!

-I understand the Crows we see are not the one experiencing the worst of the organisation since they're highranking members but c'mon... It should be acknowledged at least.

-Some of the dialogues are fucking awful especially at the begining. They repeat themselves so much. The scene with "Nooo Rook you need to help us resolve our problems otherwise we will be too weak to fight the gods!! Rook, do my personal quests or I'll be too sad to fight!!". Harding's "Awkwaaaard". Bellara's quirky uwu manic pixie girl vibes at the begining.

The Ugly:

-Anything related to the elves. For a game centered on elven gods... We get so much yet nothing. Why are they all more or less cool about their "Gods" being real and evil? No one freaking out about having Elgarnan's vallaslin on their face? No crisis of faith? No elves joining them, really? Not a single one? No dalish celebrating their return before realizing the awful truth? No city elves or elven slaves fleeing to them because they have nothing to lose anyway? That's unrealistic. I can understand the Veil Jumpers already knowing the truth, it's more or less explained in the books anyway, but there's no way it's commonly accepted among all dalish clans. Speaking of dalish clans, were are they? And Briala ? Didn't she also control the Eluvian? What about city elves in general? And elven slaves? There's just nothing. The elven pantheon wasn't some myths for the Dalish. It was a religion. Their religion. Damn, imagine Christians learning Jesus is coming back BUT he's in fact very evil and is launching nuclear weapons everywhere? And their only reaction is "Oh no, we have to stop Jesus :(" ? I'm taking the christian example but you could say that about pretty much every religion.

-Where are Fen'harel agents? A few lines and one or two NPC mentioning Solas parting ways with them or even making the Veil Jumpers the ex-agents left behind would have been SO much more interesting than whatever they justified in the AMA. I can't believe they didn't even put A CODEX ENTRY explaining their absence in game. That's lazy af.

-No repercussion on the elves AT ALL? Seriously, realistically speaking, what is the future for the elves at the end of DATV? "Their" Gods almost destroyed the world, "Their" Gods killed countless, "Their" Gods created the Blight, "Their" Gods that many dalish still worshipped only a few years ago. What do you mean humans aren't going to declare open season on them? Like OF COURSE I don't want that to happen, and I'm hoping that idk, they'll found their own country in a reclaimed Arlathan, or that the instability in the south allows some of them to grab positions of power but don't tell me the humans aren't going to feel so fucking justify in their hatred, especially towards the Dalish who never converted to the Chantry. The fact that the endgame doesn't mention ANYTHING about it is jarring. Bioware ffs drop a book or whatever soon I need answers. I need hope. The game is treating the racism against Elves as... Some prejudices humans soooometimes have against them and not... centuries of systematic oppression, genocide, cultural erasure. The City Elf origins, Chevaliers killing Alienage elves for funsies, Celene burning down a whole Alienage, the genocide of dalish clans anyone? All of this is stuff that happened like... Between 8 and 20 years ago. It's not ancient history.

-Blighting Ferelden Beyond Repair, the Venatori Coup in Orlais and Kirkwall's evacuation was mean. Of cours the South is dealing with the blight and a shitload of problem but the "we lost Denerim. And Redcliff. And anything really. Idk if there's survivors. But if there is they'll starve anyway. xoxo the Inky." was just mean spirited I'm sorry. Same as above, Bioware. I fucking need hope for the South. Anything really. They could have stopped as "Yo there's a big Blight in the south and it sucks, Denerim is struggling and we lost villages and all" and that would have been FINE. No need to go scorched earth damnit.

-The lack of worldstate choices. C'mon. I understand not having a lot of them but a list of 6-10 easy questions would have been nice. Who's Divine? Who's ruling in the South? Who drank from the Well of Sorrow? It wouldn't have asked much work to just personalize a few sentences to adjust that. Also, saying they only kept 3 choices so they could really mean something... Liar. The only thing that really has an impact is did u date solas or not. Which fine, of course it matters! But all the other romances, the inquisition disbanded or not, stopping solas or not had NO IMPACT whatsoever.

-Where the fuck is Fenris. Idgaf Inquisition had Leliana when she could die in DAO, so bring Fenris in the Shadow Dragon. He needs to be there.

-The Antaam is such a fucking racist trope I can't believe they did it. Yeah, let make them growl like damn animals.

-Speaking of Qunari, even Taash is... Urgh. Why do you mean they sniff people. Also, their whole storyline on their gender identity was badly written. That scene with Isabela... No. That's not how you apologize. You misgender someone by mistake? Say sorry, correct yourself, move on. That's it.

-Dwarves had cool moments in the game but dang, we really, REALLY needed more of it. So many revelation about them, and while some of them were very well written, it doesn't have enough impact.

-The absence of reactions and dialogues related to your race is jarring. Can't believe I'm begging the game for racial slurs but here we are. EVERYONE in Origins commented on you playing an Elf. A non-human Inquisitor faced struggles as the Herald. Why is Qunari Rook able to roam freely in Minrathous without a SINGLE comment on their race? Same for the elves, to a lesser degree since at least they are not a rare occurence in Tevinter. Can't believe dwarves get so little reaction for all the big reveals. Can't believe elves barely get to react to ELVEN GODS destroying the world or Bellara's guilt about it.

-WHERE'S THE CHANTRY. WHERE. DAMN IT. Even if it's not the focus of the game, I'd expect to still see its influence. Man I'm almost wishing Harding was more of a Chantry Girl.

-Morrigan's whole storyline is an insult to her character.

[vir-tanadahl]

The Herald and the Wolf

Summary: AU. After Felassan fails to secure the eluvian password, Solas summons him to Haven to assist in addressing the rising threat of Corypheus. When the situation takes a dire turn, Felassan accompanies Solas in joining the Inquisition. It isn’t long before Felassan recognizes that Marel Lavellan holds the key to saving this world—and possibly to altering Solas’s own plans. Find on Ao3!

The Fade shimmered around them, ethereal wisps of green and gold dancing in the air as Solas's piercing violet eyes bore into Felassan. The elf's jaw clenched, his lean frame rigid with barely contained fury. "You failed me, Felassan," Solas spat, his voice low and dangerous. "The eluvian password was within our reach, and yet you allowed it to slip through your fingers." Felassan lifted an eyebrow, his lips quirking into a sardonic smile. "Ah, yes, the infamous password to unleash your grand design. But tell me, old friend—have you ever paused to consider that this world might not be as disposable as you’ve convinced yourself?"

Solas's nostrils flared, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "This world is but a shadow of what it once was. Our people deserve to reclaim their birthright—their magic, their immortality. How can you not see the significance of this?"

"Oh, I see it," Felassan replied, his tone light but his violet eyes sharp. "I see a man so fixated on the past that he's blind to the present." He gestured around them, at the swirling mists of the Fade. "This world, flawed as it is, holds its own worth, Solas. Can you truly justify casting it all aside?"

Solas took a step forward, his voice dropping to a hiss. "I am prepared to do whatever is required to restore our people to their former glory. Your failure risks unraveling everything we have strived to achieve." Felassan's mind raced, weighing his words carefully. He had long served Solas, but doubts had been gnawing at him, growing stronger with each passing day. The world Solas envisioned seemed increasingly hollow, a fantasy built on the ruins of a vibrant, if flawed, reality.

"And what of the people who inhabit this world?" Felassan challenged, his usual playful demeanor giving way to genuine concern. "Their lives, their stories, their loves and losses—are they all meaningless to you? Tell me, Solas, is your perfect world truly worth erasing theirs?"

Solas's eyes flashed dangerously. "You forget yourself, Felassan. Our duty is to our people—to the true elves. This world is a mistake, a tragedy born of my own folly. It falls to me to set it right."

Felassan felt the weight of millennia pressing down on him, the burden of secrets and half-truths. He sighed, running a hand through his chestnut hair. "Perhaps, old friend. But tell me—on this path to correct the mistakes of the past, have you stopped to wonder if you’re about to commit a far greater one?" The tension between them crackled like lightning, two immovable forces locked in a battle of wills. Solas's grand design hung in the balance, and Felassan found himself teetering on the edge of a precipice, unsure if he could follow his friend into the abyss that awaited.

Solas's piercing violet eyes softened, a flicker of uncertainty passing across his angular features. He turned away, gazing into the swirling mists of the Fade. "Your doubts are not without merit, Felassan," Solas conceded, his voice scarcely more than a whisper. "But we cannot waver now. The road ahead is perilous, and I need your strength beside me."

Felassan raised an eyebrow, a ghost of his usual smirk playing on his lips. "Oh? And here I thought you were about to turn me into a rather dashing statue." Solas released a tired chuckle, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes. "Your wit remains as sharp as ever, I see. But no, my friend—I have a far more pressing task in mind for you. The Conclave at the Temple of Sacred Ashes—you must meet me in a village called Haven. Corypheus seeks to unlock my orb, and once he does, we must be ready to reclaim it."

Felassan's violet eyes widened. "Corypheus? The ancient magistrate? Fenedhis, Solas, what have you done?"

"What was necessary," Solas said, his tone grim. "Now go. Time is against us, and the fate of our people rests on what comes next." As Felassan vanished from the Fade, Solas's words echoed in his thoughts, a warning of the impending turmoil.

* * *

Marel's eyes snapped open, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Pain lanced through her left hand, a searing agony that threatened to consume her. She struggled to focus, to make sense of her surroundings. "Where...?" she croaked, her throat raw and parched.

The heavy wooden door slammed open, jarring Marel from her thoughts. Two women strode in, their faces etched with suspicion and barely contained anger. The taller one, clad in Seeker armor, circled Marel like a predator stalking its prey. Her voice rumbled like thunder, thick with a heavy Nevarran accent that dripped with suspicion and accusation. "Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now," she demanded, her eyes narrowing in mistrust as she clenched her fists at her sides

Marel's heart raced, but she kept her face impassive. "I don't understand. What's happening?" she asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice. The other woman, hooded and cloaked in shadow, stepped forward. Her voice, low and deliberate, sliced through the tension like a blade. "The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead.” She paused, the weight of her words hanging heavy in the air, "Except for you.”

Leliana. The name came unasked to Marel's mind, though she couldn't recall how she knew it. "That's not possible," Marel said, her voice steady despite the turmoil in her chest. "I would never—"

"Explain this," Cassandra demanded, her voice sharp as steel. She seized Marel's hand, her grip firm and unrelenting. The moment their skin touched, the strange mark burned to life, flaring with an otherworldly green light. It pulsed and flickered, casting eerie shadows across their faces, as if the light itself responded to her challenge.

Marel winced, pulling her hand back. "I... I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Cassandra's voice cut through the room, sharp and rising with frustration. Her eyes narrowed, her jaw tightening as her fingers curled into fists at her sides. The tension radiating from her was palpable, her dwindling patience crackling in the air like a storm about to break. "I don’t know what that is or how it got there," Marel said firmly, her voice steady despite the turmoil beneath. She knew she was innocent—of that, she was certain. But how could she convince them? How could she make them see the truth?

Leliana’s voice sliced through the charged silence, cool and sharp as a blade. "You're lying," she said, her calm tone laced with an edge of certainty. Her piercing gaze locked onto her target, unflinching, as if daring them to deny it. Marel held her ground, her green eyes steady and unwavering as they locked onto the other woman's. "I'm not," she said, her voice firm despite the tension in the air. "I have no idea what's going on." The raw honesty in her tone matched the defiance in her gaze, unflinching even under scrutiny.

"I can't believe it," she murmured, more to herself than her interrogators. "All those people... dead?" Something in her tone must have reached Leilana, for the her stance softened slightly. "Do you remember what happened? How this began?"

Marel closed her eyes, her brow furrowing as she searched the fragments of her memory. "I remember running," she said slowly, her voice tinged with uncertainty. Her hands tightened in her chains as the images flickered in her mind. "There were... things chasing me. And then..." Her breath hitched. "A woman. I think." Her words trailed off, the memory slipping away like sand through her fingers.

"A woman?" Leliana's interest was piqued. Marel opened her mouth to say more, but Cassandra stepped forward, cutting her off with a commanding tone. "Go to the forward camp, Leliana," she ordered, her gaze flicking briefly to the spymaster before returning to Marel. "I will take her to the rift." There was no room for debate in her words, her presence sharp and unyielding, like a blade poised to strike.

As Cassandra led her out, Marel’s fingers twitched, brushing against the hum of magic thrumming beneath her skin. It was familiar, steady—like a heartbeat grounding her in the chaos. But beneath that comforting pulse, something deeper stirred, ancient and vast, like a whisper from a time long forgotten. The sensation sent a shiver through her, both unnerving and intriguing. Whatever caused the mark on her palm, it was old magic.

* * *

The air crackled with arcane energy as Marel stumbled forward, her marked hand pulsing in rhythm with the writhing rift before her. Suddenly, a crossbow bolt whizzed past her ear, followed by a throaty laugh.

"Ha! Got you, you ugly bastard!"

Marel spun around to face a stocky dwarf who was in the midst of reloading a formidable crossbow. Flanking him were two agile elves, one with a solemn expression and the other with an almost playful twinkle in his striking violet eyes. Felassan grinned and called out, "Solas, on your left!" His movements were fluid and almost playful as he sidestepped the demon’s swipe, twirling his staff with an effortless flourish to knock its claws aside. "Come on now, try to keep up!" he teased, a spark of amusement in his voice despite the chaos.

The bald elf—Solas—responded with a graceful pivot, encasing the demon in ice. "Thank you, Felassan. Though I might value fewer remarks and more spells."

Marel's fingers were restless, eager to jump into the fray; however, uncertainty restrained her. These unfamiliar individuals seamlessly coordinated their movements. Felassan caught her eye, grinning as he dispatched another demon. “Well, aren’t you a sight?” He flirted, “Care to join the fray, or should I keep the party going on my own?" His light-heartedness was jarring against the chaos.

"It seems we have very different ideas of what makes a party," Marel said dryly, stepping forward with deliberate grace. She raised her staff, its faint glow illuminating the chaos around them. Solas moved beside her, his steady presence grounding her in the storm’s midst. "Your mark," Solas said, his voice low and urgent as his gaze flicked to her glowing hand. "It may be the key to closing the rift." Marel’s grip tightened on her staff, her brow furrowing. "How can you be sure?"

"I am not," he admitted, his tone steady even as he raised a shimmering barrier to deflect a demon’s claws. The air crackled with tension as his sharp eyes locked on hers. "But we must try. Allow me."

Before she could respond, Solas stepped forward, his hand encircling hers with surprising firmness. He guided her marked hand toward the pulsing rift, its chaotic light casting jagged shadows across his determined expression. A searing pain shot up Marel’s arm, pulling a sharp gasp from her lips. Yet beneath the agony, a surge of raw, unrelenting power rushed through her veins, wild and untamed. Her knees threatened to buckle, but Solas’s grip remained steady, grounding her as the mark blazed with a brilliance that seemed to defy the rift’s overwhelming force.

‘Is this what it feels like to touch the Fade itself?’ The thought swept through Marel’s mind, a whirlwind of awe and terror. The raw power coursing through her mark was unlike anything she had ever known—wild, infinite, and almost alive. It was as though the very fabric of the Fade pressed against her soul, overwhelming and wonder. The rift surged before them, its jagged edges pulsing erratically, expanding and contracting like a living, breathing entity on the verge of breaking free. Its light spilled across the battlefield in blinding waves, and for a heart-stopping moment, Marel felt the crushing weight of its pull. The air itself seemed to tremble, thick with the promise of chaos.

A flicker of panic gripped her chest. Then came the crack—a sharp, deafening sound that split the air, reverberating in her bones. The rift convulsed violently, its pulsating energy twisting inward before stabilizing into a jagged tear. The relentless stream of demons halted, their forms dissolving into nothingness as silence fell, oppressive and final. Marel stumbled, her chest heaving, the mark dimming on her hand as the otherworldly power slipped away, leaving only the ghost of its presence behind.

Solas released her hand with deliberate care, his shoulders easing as a wave of relief softened his sharp features. For a moment, his usual composure faltered, and a faint smile flickered across his lips. "It seems my theory was correct," he said, his voice quieter now, almost admiring. Marel flexed her fingers, the mark still thrumming with an otherworldly energy that sent shivers up her arm. Her brow furrowed as she turned her hand over, the faint glow still pulsing beneath her skin. "What did you do?" she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion and curiosity.

"I did nothing," Solas replied, his gaze unwavering, the intensity in his eyes making her breath catch. "The credit is yours. The mark—it resonates with you alone. You wielded its power." His tone was calm, yet there was something beneath it—a flicker of admiration, perhaps, or respect for what she had just accomplished. Cassandra stepped forward, her brows furrowed in thought, “Meaning it could also close the breach itself?” She asked.

Solas turned to face Cassandra. “Possibly,” he replied before turning back to Marel. “It seems you hold the key to our salvation,” he remarked. The dwarf with the intricate crossbow adds, “Good to know! Here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever,” His tone is both serious and playful as he introduced himself. “Varric Tethras. Rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong,” he said with a wink directed at Cassandra.

Marel stared at the dwarf. “Are you with the chantry or…?” she asks hesitantly. Solas chuckled, “Was that a serious question?” he asked. Varric shrugged casually, tugging at the cuff of his jacket as though discussing the weather instead of his predicament. “Technically, I’m a prisoner, just like you,” he said, his tone light but edged with a wry humor.

Cassandra crossed her arms, her frown deepening. “I brought you here to recount a story for the Divine. Clearly, that plan no longer holds.” Varric’s grin widened, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. “And yet, here I am,” he said, gesturing broadly as though to emphasize his presence. “Lucky for you, too, considering… well, current events.” His voice carried an unmistakable hint of smugness, as though even imprisonment hadn’t diminished his knack for being indispensable.

Marel watched their exchange in silence, her gaze thoughtful but guarded. Finally, she offered a small nod and said, “It’s good to meet you, Varric.”

Solas, standing just beside her, folded his arms with a faint smirk. “You may find reason to reconsider that sentiment… in time.”

Varric let out a low chuckle, leaning casually on his crossbow. “Aww, don’t be like that, Chuckles. I’m sure we’ll be the best of friends by the time we’re done with this valley.” His grin widened as he tilted his head toward Marel.

“My name is Solas,” he said, his voice calm and measured as he stepped forward, inclining his head slightly in acknowledgment. “If there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live,” His tone carried a faint undercurrent of curiosity, as though already appraising the significance of her survival. Varric raised a hand, his tone dripping with playful sarcasm. “He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.’”

Marel’s eyes shifted from Varric to Solas, her expression calm but searching. She tilted her head slightly, her curiosity evident as she met his steady gaze. “You seem to know a great deal about it all,” she remarked, her voice soft but laced with quiet intrigue. Cassandra’s tone was clipped as she addressed Marel. “Like you, Solas and his companion are apostates.”

Solas responded with a nonchalant shrug, his demeanor calm but unyielding. “Technically, Cassandra, all mages are apostates now,” he said, his words carrying an air of inevitability. His gaze turned toward the breach, its chaotic energy casting harsh shadows across his sharp features. “My travels have allowed me to learn much of the Fade, far beyond the experience of any circle mage.” He shifted his focus back to the group, his voice steady but grave. “I came to offer what help I can. If the breach is not closed, it will consume us all. If it is not closed, we are all doomed, regardless of origin.”

Felassan leaned on his staff, a playful glint in his violet eyes. “Felassan,” he said with a lazy smile, inclining his head just enough to seem polite. “Witty observer, occasional meddler, and—lucky for you—an expert at surviving all manner of unpleasantness.” He glanced at Marel, one brow lifting. “I have to say, you’re handling this whole ‘catastrophic disaster’ thing remarkably well. First time, or are you a veteran of world-ending chaos?” He paused, his smirk widening as his gaze flicked to Solas. “And before you ask—no, I’m not with the Chantry either. Too many rules.”

“I am Marel.” Marel’s lips curved into a faint, wry smile at Felassan’s remark. "First time, actually. But at this rate, I might end up an expert before too long."

Felassan’s smirk widened, his violet eyes glinting with amusement. “Ah, a quick learner. Good—Thedas could always use another expert in impending doom. Though, fair warning, the job comes with long hours and questionable company.” Cassandra made a disgusted noise. "This is hardly the time for jests," she said, her hand tightening on the hilt of her sword. "We must reach the forward camp quickly."

The group trudged through the snow-covered valley, their footsteps crunching with each step. Solas broke the silence by initiating conversation. "You are Dalish, yet clearly away from the rest of your clan," Solas observed, his violet eyes studying her intently. "Did they send you here?" The question caught Marel off-guard. She hesitated, memories of her clan—of home—flooding her mind. "No," she replied softly. A lie. "I came of my own accord. To observe the Conclave, to understand what was happening in the world beyond our that could impact the People."

‘And now I'm at the center of it all’, she thought, a wave of loneliness threatening to overwhelm her. Marel took a deep breath, steadying herself. The weight of recent events pressed upon her, but curiosity sparked in her eyes as she regarded Solas. "What do you know of the Dalish?" she asked, her voice a mixture of challenge and genuine interest.

Solas's expression shifted, a flicker of something—regret or possibly frustration—passing over his features before settling into a mask of polite neutrality. "I have wandered many roads in my time," he replied, his tone measured, "and crossed paths with your people on more than one occasion." As he spoke, Marel found herself studying the apostate elf more closely. His posture, the way he held himself apart—it spoke of years of solitary travel. She wondered what encounters he might have had with her people, what stories lay behind his carefully chosen words. Your people, not our. ‘There's more he isn't saying’, she thought, noting the slight tension in his jaw. “What do you mean by ‘crossed paths,’ then?” Marel pressed, her tone quiet but insistent, her sharp gaze fixed on Solas as they walked.

He tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable but tinged with a faint bitterness. “I mean,” he began evenly, “that I offered to share knowledge, only to be attacked for no greater reason than their superstition.” His voice carried a measured calm, but a flicker of disdain crossed his face. His words hung in the air, a subtle edge of frustration underlying his otherwise composed demeanor. Felassan shook his head with a dramatic sigh, glancing at Marel. “What he means to say is, people tend to overreact when faced with someone who uses ‘sharing knowledge’ as a conversational icebreaker. A tragic flaw of his, really.” he remarked, glancing at Solas with a faint smirk.

Marel’s expression remained calm, but her green eyes sharpened with quiet intensity, as if peeling back the layers of his words. “Sharing knowledge is meant to build trust, not provoke conflict,” she said, her tone steady yet probing. “So what was different this time?”

Solas opened his mouth to respond, but Felassan cut in with a chuckle. "Oh, I'm sure our wandering friend here has tales aplenty. But perhaps we should save the cultural exchange for when we're not standing in the shadow of impending doom, hmm?"

Varric cleared his throat, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the group. His eyes darted between Solas and Marel, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Can't you elves just play nice for once?" he quipped, his tone light but tinged with exasperation. Marel felt a flush creep up her neck, suddenly aware of how the conversation must have sounded to outsiders. "You’re right," she said, her posture straightening with resolve. "We should keep moving." Her green eyes met Solas’s, steady and thoughtful. "But later, if you’re willing, I’d like to hear more about your travels."

"Oh, Varric," Felassan drawled, his violet eyes sparkling with barely contained amusement. "Where is the fun? Centuries of cultural confusion make for the best stories—and even better awkward silences at the table." He cast Marel a conspiratorial wink, the corners of her lips twitching despite the weight of the moment. ‘How does he manage to diffuse tension so effortlessly?’ Marel wondered, studying Felassan's relaxed posture. His relaxed posture stood in stark contrast to the tension thick in the air, as if the looming threat of the Breach above them was little more than a passing inconvenience.

Solas, for his part, looked less than amused. His brow furrowed slightly as he regarded Felassan, a silent exchange passing between them that Marel couldn't quite decipher. She felt a pang of curiosity about their relationship, sensing layers of history and unspoken words beneath the surface. “Perhaps,” Marel interjected, her tone cutting through the tension like a blade, “we could save the cultural debates for when we’re not standing in the middle of a demon-infested ruin?” She lifted her marked hand, the green energy rippling faintly along her fingers, its pulse eerily not synchronized with her heartbeat, but someone else’s. Her gaze shifted between the others, calm but firm, a silent reminder of the more immediate threat surrounding them.

* * *

The air was thick with the hum of magic, the pulsing green rift tearing into the world like a festering wound as they enter the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Marel stood at its edge, her staff gripped tightly in one hand, the mark on her other hand burning faintly as if responding to the nearness of the rift. The energy was familiar, almost intimate, as though it recognized her. A shiver ran down her spine. Solas stepped closer, his voice soft but pointed. “This is where it began. You feel the echoes of it, don’t you?”

Marel nodded, her eyes fixed on the rift. The closer she got, the clearer the world around her seemed to shift. The present blurred with something… else.

“Someone help me,” a voice called out, “You must stop him.”

Cassandra’s breath hitched, her eyes widening as if struck by a sudden revelation. “That voice…” she gasped, her words laced with both awe and disbelief. “It’s Divine Justinia!”

Felassan, lounging a few paces behind, straightened slightly, his lighthearted tone cutting through the tension. “Echoes, memories, ancient magic—always so dramatic, aren’t they?”

Marel glanced over at him, her demeanor calm yet cautious. "I hope you're not taking this lightly," she said with a hint of concern in her voice. Felassan tilted his head, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Lightly? Never. I simply find that a well-timed joke makes impending doom so much more bearable." His violet eyes sparkled with mischief, but there was a flicker of something deeper beneath his playful tone. Without hesitation, she stepped closer to the rift. The others—Cassandra, Varric, Solas, and Felassan—watched, wary but unwilling to interfere. Her own voice echoed in the ruins of the temple: “What’s going on here?” The mark on her hand flared to life as she reached out, the green light pulling her into its depths.

Cassandra gasped, “That was your voice! Most-holy called out to you, but…”

The Fade surged around Marel, not the vibrant realm of dreams she knew, but a fractured, chaotic reflection of the world. A woman, robed in white and gold, bound in shimmering chains of light, knelt before an imposing male figure shrouded in shadow. The woman—Divine Justinia V—lifted her head, her gaze piercing through the haze.

“Run while you can! Warn them!” the Divine called to her. The imposing male figure shrouded in shadow spoke, “We have an intruder. Slay the elf.” The vision fades with a blast of power.

Cassandra turned towards her, voice sharp with urgency. "You were there! Who was the attacker? And what about the Divine? Is she...? Was the vision we saw real? What does it mean?"

“I don’t know—I don’t remember!” Marel said, her voice steady but laced with frustration, as if trying to grasp at something just out of reach. Solas spoke, his tone deliberate and reflective. "What we witnessed may well have been a memory, preserved within the Fade—a fragment of events from when the Breach first tore through this place. The Fade's presence here is unmistakable, seeping into the world around us."

Felassan, who had been silent until now, stepped forward, his usual grin replaced by a rare seriousness. “If it’s a memory, why doesn’t she remember it? The mark on her hand ties her to all this, doesn’t it?”

"Or it was taken from her," Solas replied, his gaze narrowing as it fixed on the rift. "This rift is not sealed, merely closed... for now. With the mark, I believe it can be reopened and then properly sealed—safely. However, doing so will almost certainly draw attention from the other side."

Cassandra nods and signals to the soldiers around them, her voice calm but urgent. "That means demons. Stand ready!"

The rift loomed ahead, its luminous aura flickering and distorting the air around it. Marel Lavellan stood at the front, her marked hand pulsing with a fiery glow as she neared the rift. Its powerful magic seemed to call out to her, in sync with the rhythm of her heartbeat. Determined, she extended her marked hand towards the rift and the light intensified, blinding and intense. The ground beneath them rumbled, and a deafening roar echoed from within the rift. A massive figure began to emerge—a hulking Pride demon wreathed in green fire, its form twisted and grotesque. Its prideful eyes gleamed as it surveyed the group.

As the mark on her arm flared with pain, Marel stumbled backwards and the demon advanced towards her. "Get your weapons ready!" Cassandra commanded, lifting her shield and charging forward without hesitation. The fight commenced. Cassandra blocked a swipe of the demon’s massive claws, the force of the blow driving her to one knee. “Marel, we can’t hold this thing forever!” she called out, swinging her sword to deflect another strike. Varric let out a low whistle as he fired bolts at the demon’s exposed side.

Solas raised his staff, a blast of ice struck the demon’s flaming arm, causing it to recoil with a howl. Felassan darted around the battlefield with surprising grace, flinging bursts of magic at the demon’s head. “Keep its attention off her!” he yelled, pointing toward Marel. “She’s the one who can end this.”

Marel’s heart pounded as she staggered closer to the rift, the mark on her hand blazing painfully bright. The closer she got, the more the rift seemed to pull at her, as though trying to consume her entirely. “Focus, Marel,” Felassan called, his usual teasing tone replaced with rare urgency. “It’s you or the demon—decide quickly.” The mark connected with the rift, sending a blast of green energy rippling outward. The Pride demon roared in pain, momentarily stunned as the rift’s power turned against it.

“Now!” Cassandra shouted, driving her blade into the demon’s leg. Solas and Felassan unleashed coordinated bursts of magic, striking at the demon’s weakened form. Varric’s bolts embedded themselves in its chest, one after another. Marel poured everything she had into the mark, her vision narrowing as the rift began to respond. The demon howled again, its form flickering like a flame in a storm. It lashed out wildly, sending Cassandra sprawling and nearly catching Varric with its claws.

“It’s weakening!” Solas called. “Hold it off a little longer!”

Marel gritted her teeth, stepping closer to the rift despite the searing pain in her arm. She could feel the power pulling at her, but she refused to let go. “Just… a little more!” The Pride demon made one final lunge toward her, its claws outstretched. Felassan intercepted with a blast of energy that sent it reeling. “Now!” he yelled. Marel let out a cry as she channeled the mark's power into the rift. The energy exploded outward, enveloping the Pride demon and pulling it back into the tear. The rift trembled violently, its glow intensifying before imploding with a deafening snap. Marel's sight dimmed as she channeled the last of her energy into the mark, her body quaking under the intense surge of power. The final burst of magic closed the portal, pulling the Pride demon into oblivion, but it drained her completely. And then, everything went dark.

* * *

As they made their way through the gates, a sense of heavy burden enveloped the group. The looming threat of the Breach weighed heavily on their minds, serving as a constant reminder of the chaos that awaited them. Felassan's attention was drawn to Cassandra carrying the unconscious body of Marel, her marked hand clenching tightly without her even realizing it. Felassan came to a realization: she was the key. Not only in sealing the rifts, but in altering the course of everything. Even for Solas.

"We face an uncertain path," Solas said softly, his eyes on the distant horizon. "But with determination and wisdom, we may yet prevail."

Felassan snorted. "Always the optimist, aren't you?" But his tone lacked its usual bite. Instead, he found himself studying Marel, noting the steel in her spine, the quiet resolve in her eyes. ‘Perhaps’, he thought, ‘there's hope for us all yet.’

[lasandra]

Super Massive End Game Veilguard Spoilers Under the Cut!

Seriously. If you haven't finished playing Veilguard, DO. NOT. READ. So I finished DA:tV and I have been really trying to sort out my thoughts... And well...

Sdlkajshdfklajhsdfklajhsdflkjahsdklfjhaskldfjhaskldfhj I CAN'T!!! My dudes I am SO conflicted!!! Solas is the only character I have ever come across that I both love to pieces and want the best for him but I also want to beat him until he is a puddle of bruised yolk and cracked shells. This dude KILLED VARRIC FOR REALSIES! I am not okay with that. My Hawke's GOING to hunt him down when she finds out. If the Tevinter Magisters can get into the Black City then dammit so can she. And when she does, I am not sure even Lavellan can save him. Amelia (My Hawke) has lost so many of her friends/family/loved ones she can't handle this anymore. He also killed God's gift to elves Felassan. It's been over a decade since I read The Masked Empire but I don't remember there being a great reason other than him being upset that Felassan failed. Dude has GOT to stop killing his friends lol. Especially the hot ones. Like. Come on. As if that wasn't enough, he manipulated Rook. I love my first Rook (Carwyn de Riva) so much that I am STRUGGLING to play another playthrough with any of the other Rooks I had planned. To see that he manipulated her with blood magic... Stopped her from being able to mourn Varric with the others properly.... AND tricked her into that prison??? He didn't think she'd be able to get out. Luckily she had plot armor because if she hadn't gotten out I would find a way into Thedas to rip him apart myself. *Aggressive breathing noises* I feel very normal about this, obviously. Seriously though, guys, I came THIIIIIIIS close to tricking him with the fake dagger even knowing that Lanaya (my Lavellan) wouldn't have gotten her happy ending. JUST so I could see the LOOK on his face when he realized ROOK outplayed him at his own game! At the SAME time however... The idea of sending him into the Black City alone... hurts me lol! I don't want him to suffer. Dude has suffered a lot and honestly, I'm not entirely sure his being a friend-murdering ass is *entirely his fault... The longer I sit with everything, the more certain I am that Solas didn't really have a choice. Seems very much like he was sort of bound to the will of Mythal. Maybe I've missed something, I'm not as lore-savvy as I once was. But in the end when Mythal tells Solas that she releases him from her service and only THEN (NOT when Lavellan BEGS him to stop) is he willing to do the right thing? I don't know. It just reminded me SO much of his personal quest in Inquisition where his Wisdom Spirit friend had been bound and twisted against its purpose. If it works anything like what we saw in Inquisition with whoever drank from the Well of Sorrows, who's to say when something was him vs the will of Mythal? It could be a bit of a stretch but, there's certainly room for that interpretation, I think. And if that's the case, then he doesn't deserve the hell that awaits him. It's also the only interpretation I can really accept Lanaya still wanting to be with him. Varric was her friend too. While forgiveness is something I give freely, I cannot imagine reconciling with a man who did what Solas did without him having been essentially forced into doing it. *Sighs deeply* I saw the different versions of his endgame images... Shit man. The only way this man gets a happy ending is with Lavellan. Dude looks so miserable and gloomy in all the other endings. Moire (Trevelyan) was Solas' friend. She wouldn't want to send him off to be alone in such a terrible place. That would seriously eat at her. (Rook wouldn't care. Her give a damn was busted after he betrayed her for the twenty-billionth time.) It can never be anything but a complete and utter rollercoaster with this man! I do think that the ending I got with him was as good as it possibly could have been though, given everything. Sorry for this really poorly written rant. I needed to get this out of my system and it's almost 3am lol.

[cursedhaglette]

Please tell me your thoughts about Felassan and Solas’s relationship so much of it is left for us to fill in!!

okay beautiful one. the masked empire is literally so slow. i'm bored of it and know how it ends so i'm gonna tackle this without finishing it because i'm a strong brave girl. you heard it here first.

felassan is such a babe, first of all. let me get that out of the way. his intro being "yeah we used to eat medicinal bark back in the day. not this shit though" and just putting the bark he chewed back on the tree? icon. legend. "yeah i'm...dalish..." okay felassan, you've charmed me.

as for felassan and solas, well that sure is the question, isn't it? i think in a lot of ways, it feels like felassan is representative of the traits that solas loses when he loses mythal. felassan's sense of duty and compassion never seem to waver, never lose focus. even when he denies solas the passcode to the eluvians, it is because he believes it is what's best for the elves. solas is mired in his pride and his duty, his guilt and everything going on with mythal that tangles through that, but felassan doesn't seem to suffer from the same... distractions? (idk if that's necessarily the right word?) if solas is the mind, felassan is the heart. you need both to make the kind of change that is right for an entire race of people.

and i think in some ways, that's why solas needs the inquisitor to step into the position of 'heart' (even if unromanced!) where felassan fell. to redeem solas and save the world as it is, solas has to have both, he cannot win with wisdom and pride alone. would he have with felassan still by his side? who can say - maybe trick i guess.

anyway idk if any of this made sense! but it's my personal take on the matter based on what we have from TME, DAI, and DAV. i also definitely think felassan and solas explored each others bodies during the rebellion. look at them. they'd be fools not to. why hasn't someone written an after battle hurt/comfort/smut for them. i can't do everything myself.

lastly the "solas is bi but doesn't date men anymore because he's haunted by fumbling felassan so bad" joke that was going around is also so good i think it's become my personal headcanon too so add that to the list. okay that's all for real

[amaryllis-sagitta]

Final thoughts on Solas after DATV 100%

So, after beating 100% I think it kinda gets better in the 2nd half of the game, but there's some moments where the Solas Experience feels just a little off... though it might sound nitpicky to those who enjoyed their time.

For the entire Act 1 and half of Act 2 I felt railroaded into hating Solas. Full on. The first 2 memories gave us an idealized picture of the rebel leader who's ready for sacrifices. Then the third memory destroyed that picture by showing how far Solas had gone in his sacrifices. That moment imo felt a little off because when Felassan pleaded to Solas, he looked so... smug. Then, midway through Act 2, it got a little better. After killing the first Archdemon, my Rook "earned Solas's respect" and their conversation felt sincere and much more on an equal footing. Then, the dinner with my Solavellan Inky who swore to save Solas shed some light on his motives. This section felt better because it didn't feel railroaded anymore, but more like a true exchange of perspectives, and there I felt I can change my mind, and even change Inquisitor's mind. That dinner with Inky gave me all I was missing - a chance to confront someone who had good information. Because Varric's advice has been trite and useless, and for a very good reason. So we were going off the opinions of people who only knew Fen'Harel The Warning.

All of this said, I feel like the reveal of Varric's death jumped the guns justt a little bit in bringing out Solas's trickster nature. I would have preferred if my Rook was given a chance to fail in that moment - to have a breakdown after they lose their first/ mandatory companion, for Solas to intervene then and do his thing. Then he could've come in with the same cold assessment that Rook can't make it. It wouldn't have hurt his treacherous characterization imo, because he still hid from us that killing Elgar'nan just like this would also tear down the Veil.

What puts me off just a little bit in that moment was how Solas is completely torn about some regrets and mentions others almost off-handedly, like tricking Rook is hardly a regret for him. I sincerely wanted to tell him to shove it when Rook got the dagger back in Minrathous.

Then, when we have made it after all and escaped the Fade prison with the power of Friendship, he wants to butter us up again and we are suddenly the best person to wield the dagger? I admit, I didn't suspect to see a moment when Solas would be... cowardly in such an unelegant way. But maybe that's how it's supposed to be? Maybe that's how much he feared Elgar'nan at the end of it all?

What follows re: Fen'harel's fight with Lusacan the Archdemon was 11/10. Sexy Dread Wolf form taking blows for us, almost dying several times and needing help? I LOVED the constant death scares in Veilguard's "suicide mission" that kept me on the seat's edge about blorbos!

About Solas/ Mythal... I am still a little mad that an emotionally tethered, terrified victim is forced to face his abuser and be released by her to get his closure, that he needs to be told that HE IS FORGIVEN. BY HIS ABUSER. FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ACTIONS CARRIED OUT FOR HER SAKE... But on the other hand, no-one else indeed could have reached him and ridden him of the guilt about Mythal. He was too stubborn to let go by himself. It really, really would have benefitted the narrative in overall if they dared make Mythal the ultimate antagonist whose nature had been obscured through myth and through pulling the wool over many party's eyes.

Many of us wanted a scene of Solas ugly sobbing as he experiences release from at least a part of his burden, and we got it.

So all in all, I feel the experience is a little bumpy in some moments but overally... more or less adequate?

[senseandaccountability]

Canto IX: The faces of the people we saved

“I’m sorry, Felassan,” he says; it’s an echo at the back of his mind, a tune he will hear with every breath he draws until the earth no longer exists.  "I'm so sorry," he says. 

“I should have trusted you,” he says. 

Felassan shrugs. “It would not have changed much for the People, all things considered.”

“It would have changed things for you. You would have been alive.” 

“And you wouldn’t have murdered me.”

“No,” Solas agrees, holding Felassan’s gaze over the flames. “I wouldn’t have murdered you.”

Something shifts in the air around them, like a rustle of dried leaves. 

Felassan nods, his mouth twisted into a sardonic smile, an expression so familiar and so devastating it tears the fabric of the Fade. 

“That would have been a better fate for us, old friend,” he says, before he disappears. 

[broodwolf221]

Fen’Harel / Andruil / Ghilan’nain

Content warnings: Rape; jealously; possessiveness; canon-typical violence (via codex entries/stories)

A couple of notes before I dig into this: first is that Andruil/Ghilan’nain as a ship is based off of the now-discontinued TTRPG canon, but it’s something I enjoy and have retained as part of my personal network of HCs. Second, I will be referencing the one story I do know from The Masked Empire, Fen’Harel and the Tree. I will attach the description of that story from the wiki for those who are unfamiliar, but I’m noting it here as a spoiler. Aside from these two sources, everything I’m about to say—including some alterations to these sources—are just my HCs and not to be taken as an argument towards what is “true” or “canon”. It is a playground and I am currently telling y’all how I like to play with my dolls.

Fen’Harel and the Tree:

"In the story, Fen'Harel was captured by the hunting goddess, Andruil. He had angered her by hunting the halla without her blessing, and she tied him to a tree and declared that he would have to serve in her bed for a year and a day to pay her back. But as she made camp that night, the dark god Anaris found them, and Anaris swore that he would kill Fen'Harel for crimes against the Forgotten Ones. Andruil and Anaris decided that they would duel for the right to claim Fen'Harel.

He called out to Anaris during the fight and told him of a flaw in Andruil's armor just above the hip, and Anaris stabbed Andruil in the side, and she fell. Then Fen'Harel told Anaris that he owed the Dread Wolf for the victory and ought to get his freedom. Anaris was so affronted by Fen'Harel's audacity that he turned and shouted insults at the prisoner, and so he did not see Andruil, injured but alive, rise behind him and attack with her great bow. Anaris fell with a golden arrow in his back, badly injured, and while both gods slumbered to heal their wounds, Fen'Harel chewed through his ropes and escaped."

     —Felassan, to Briala

Now, I won’t pretend that I’m not a fan of messy, complex, and unhealthy dynamics, but I want to make it clear that I don’t think the Solas/Andruil element of this ship is based around rape. The argument can be made from the above story, but I suspect it is a lot more hyperbolic than it is literal and that interpretation is a cornerstone of the rest of this meta. 

So! The meta at last!

Ghilan’nain was inducted as one of the Evanuris, presumably by Andruil. While there is the story about Andruil transforming Ghilan’nain into a halla (the first halla) (codex entry listed below), I do not believe she literally spent the rest of her life as a halla. The story could be hyperbolic or metaphorical. So what I take from all this is that: Ghilan’nain was saved—or sees herself as being saved—by Andruil. And another codex entry about Ghilan’nain states that “Pride stopped her hand,” where Pride is capitalized. Given Solas’ statement of “I was Solas first,” and given that Solas means pride, I find this to be a pretty straightforward reference to Solas staying her hand (codex listed below, emphasis mine).

So what we have so far is Andruil and Ghilan’nain together, Andruil interested in Solas, and Ghilan’nain and Solas having some kind of connection. Looking back at Fen’Harel and the Tree, Solas angered Andruil by “hunting the halla without her blessing,” which, in the context of the rest, seems to me to be a statement towards Solas and Ghilan’nain having been involved at some level. Perhaps they slept together, perhaps they flirted, maybe they were even close friends and Andruil was simply jealous. Still, Ghilan’nain was supposedly the first halla, so the idea that hunting halla could be a normal passtime and thus this statement being literal seems unlikely, reinforcing the idea that it was Ghilan’nain who Solas “hunted”/pursued/was seen as pursuing. 

Now, I do have a heavier read on all this, and one I have touched on tangentially through my Merry Whump of May series. In this read, Andruil’s actions towards Solas does constitute rape, or attempted rape. Andruil and Ghilan’nain are together, and whether Solas was involved with Ghilan’nain or not matters less than the fact that Andruil perceived them as being together and decided that a fitting punishment was to get Solas to warm her bed for a year and a day, thus taking Ghilan’nain’s lover—or “lover”—for herself and punishing the both of them at once. I think this is a valid read as well! But in terms of an OT3, I don’t see this as being a feasible basis, so it’s not the read I’m focusing on here.

So, let’s take a look at Solas now. I’d wager that this is the “hot-blooded and cocky, always ready to fight” time of his life that he references in conversation with Blackwall. The Solas we see in the game is quite calm (with a few reasonable exceptions), thinks before he acts, doesn’t yearn for battle but sees the necessity of it, so on and so forth. Very different from the image he paints of himself when he was younger. He’s focusing on certain aspects of his youth, but there would have been other differences, too; overall less experienced, perhaps more impulsive. I’m pulling a lot out of a single line, but the characteristics that lead someone to being 1) hot-blooded, 2) cocky, and 3) always ready to fight seem to be characteristics that would also lead to a generalized intensity.

So, Arlathan era Solas was young, rash, intense; hot-blooded, cocky, quick to fight. To me this is the kind of man who could easily pursue someone who is dangerous and thrilling, someone who is glorious and threatening all at once. Given this, a relationship with Andruil does not seem far-fetched, for she is powerful, bold, skilled, and likely beautiful. (The last because lbr, a videogame is not going to make would-be gods anything other than attractive. But also I view Solas as demi, so if he’s interested in who someone is, attraction and desire would follow). 

Solas and Ghilan’nain make sense in a similar vein, where Solas appreciates Ghilly’s unique power and capability. She also creates life rather than destroys or controls it, as the other Evanuris do. I can see Solas being drawn to Ghilan’nain’s power, and according to the codex she kept herself apart from the other Elvhen, which could be extrapolated to mean that she does not behave like the other Evanuris do, or like the other Elvhen do, and I think that Solas always has been drawn to people with unique outlooks and points of view. I imagine even then he valued learning for its own sake and would have seen the possibility of learning a great deal from Ghilly.

So, the OT3 dynamic. I do view Andruil as possessive and jealous, just my personal read on her character, and I think she would bring those characteristics into any relationship, whether one exclusively with either Ghilan’nain or Solas or the three of them together. In the latter, she would want them both, but I think she would be wary of letting them spend time alone together. And this is prior to exploring the Void/the Abyss (I can never remember which is which and honestly some codex entries seem to use the terms interchangeably which does not help matters) (codex entry below). After her explorations and the way those impact her, I think any potential dynamic with them would be much worse, far more strained, and would likely end up breaking apart dramatically. In that case, I suspect Ghilan’nain would stay with Andruil, in no small part because of what she feels she owes Andruil for having saved her.

Aside from his intensity and the easy way that can lead to infatuation and fascination, I suspect that Solas would get to a point where he felt like maybe, just maybe, he could fix them. Could pull them to his side. Ghilan’nain would be easier because she was not part of the family, not as mired in their ways and their corruption, and her power was so formidable that the Evanuris were wary of it. If he could have gotten her to openly join his side during the rebellion, things may have gone very differently. And Andruil’s connection to Ghilan’nain might have been something he thought he could pull on as well, could hone in on this connection with someone outside the family, someone different from the Evanuris, someone Andruil had learned to value, and guide her towards valuing more people outside the family.

Of course, it did not work out that way. I suspect he did not try to bring either of them into his rebellion, because to do so would be to announce his rebellion, but I imagine he got to a point—particularly after Andruil changed—that it felt impossible to turn them to his side. Even if not impossible, far too great a risk. 

Codex Entries:

One day, Ghilan'nain came across a hunter she did not know. At his feet lay a hawk, shot through the heart by an arrow. Ghilan'nain was filled with rage, for the hawk is an animal much beloved of Andruil. Ghilan'nain called upon the goddess to curse him, so that he could never again hunt and kill a living creature. Ghilan'nain's curse took hold, and the hunter found that he was unable to hunt. Ashamed, the hunter swore he would find Ghilan'nain and repay her for what she had done to him. He blinded her first, and then bound her as one would bind a kill fresh from the hunt. But because he was cursed, the hunter could not kill her. Instead he left her for dead in the forest. And Ghilan'nain prayed to the gods for help. Andruil sent her hares to Ghilan'nain and they chewed through the ropes that bound her, but Ghilan'nain was still wounded and blind, and could not find her way home. So Andruil turned her into a beautiful white deer—the first halla.

—From Codex entry: Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla

Ghilan'nain kept herself apart from the People. She used her power to create animals none had ever seen. The skies teemed with her monsters, the land with her beasts. Andruil hunted them all, and after a year of killing, approached Ghilan'nain with an offer: the gods would share their power with Ghilan'nain, but only if she destroyed her creations, for they were too untamed to remain among the People. Ghilan'nain agreed and asked for three days to undo what she had made.

On the first day she struck down the monsters of the air, except those she presented to Andruil as a gift.

On the second day she drowned the giants of the sea, except those in deep waters, for they were too well-wrought, and Pride stopped her hand.

On the third day she killed the beasts of the land, except the halla, whose grace she loved above all else.

This is how Ghilan'nain was made youngest of the gods.

—Story of the elven god Ghilan'nain, author unknown (emphasis mine)

One day Andruil grew tired of hunting mortal men and beasts. She began stalking the Forgotten Ones, wicked things that thrive in the abyss. Yet even a god should not linger there, and each time she entered the Void, Andruil suffered longer and longer periods of madness after returning.

Andruil put on armor made of the Void, and all forgot her true face. She made weapons of darkness, and plague ate her lands. She howled things meant to be forgotten, and the other gods became fearful Andruil would hunt them in turn. So Mythal spread rumors of a monstrous creature and took the form of a great serpent, waiting for Andruil at the base of a mountain.

When Andruil came, Mythal sprang on the hunter. They fought for three day and nights, Andruil slashing deep gouges in the serpent's hide. But Mythal's magic sapped Andruil's strength, and stole her knowledge of how to find the Void. After this, the great hunter could never make her way back to the abyss, and peace returned.

—Translated from ancient elven found in the Arbor Wilds, source unverified