#all mother ~ mythal

[dreadwxlf]

~{Ok, I have some new ideas about Solas and Mythal based on some info that was dropped in the IGN trailer -- so spoilers ahead if you're avoiding those}~

~{So Solas hints at various points that Mythal "betrayed" him in some way, but we have no idea how. I always thought maybe she didn't fully support his rebellion at some point after he ascended to become an Evanuris.}~

~{But based on this new mural, it appears that Solas was never onboard with godhood -- Mythal, however, was. I think her betrayal was making herself a god with Elgar'nan and the others when she knew Solas disapproved of it. He would definitely view that as a great betrayal, even if she continued to care for her followers afterward.}~

~{Another note is that Solas claims that the elves' greatest curse was "may you learn" (something he uses with Vivienne). I find it interesting that he tells Mythal and Elgar'nan that they "will learn that [they are not gods]." A variation of the "greatest curse."}~

[starfoam]

//Mothers are an important theme in this verse, not sure why

[dalishious]

So people on twitter are mad about Morrigan and the Morrigan movers come out in force to protect her. Going in on how Morrigan is an elven expert because her mother was Flemeth, pretty much not knowing any of the games lore before DAI. In top of that they are mostly white so as a black fan, it makes me feel like fandom just sucks In general no matter where I go.

People are so quick to forget (or they didn't play Witch Hunt in the first place) that Morrigan VERY LITERALLY STOLE the knowledge she has from the Dalish. Like, she literally STOLE their ancient texts about eluvians and ran away with it. Ariane's whole purpose of being in the DLC is because she's trying to track down Morrigan and recover what she STOLE! She's just like British scholars who fan themselves over their "expertise" on their colonial theft; the only reason she knows anything at all is because she STOLE IT from the people she claims to be an "expert" on.

AND MORRIGAN HAD NO IDEA THAT FLEMETH HAD A PIECE OF MYTHAL IN HER!

Ugh. I like Morrigan a lot in Dragon Age: Origins, I do. But her presence in Dragon Age: Inquisition is a nightmare.

[felassan]

Codex entry: Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla

"They say Ghilan'nain was one of the People, in the days before Arlathan, and the chosen of Andruil the Huntress. She was very beautiful—with hair of snowy white—and as graceful as a gazelle. She kept always to Andruil's Ways, and Andruil favored her above all others. One day, while hunting in the forest, 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—along with the hare—is an animal much beloved of Andruil. Ghilan'nain demanded that the hunter make an offering to Andruil, in exchange for taking the life of one of her creatures. The hunter refused, and 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. His prey would dart out of sight and his arrows would fly astray. His friends and family began to mock him for his impotence, for what use is a hunter who cannot hunt? Ashamed, the hunter swore he would find Ghilan'nain and repay her for what she had done to him. He found Ghilan'nain while she was out on a hunt with her sisters, and lured her away from them with lies and false words. He told Ghilan'nain that he had learned his lesson and begged her to come with him, so she could teach him to make a proper offering to Andruil. Moved by his plea, Ghilan'nain followed the hunter, and when they were away from all of her sisters, the hunter turned on Ghilan'nain. 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. She prayed to Elgar'nan for vengeance, to Mother Mythal to protect her, but above all she prayed to Andruil. 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. And Ghilan'nain found her way back to her sisters, and led them to the hunter, who was brought to justice. And since that day, the halla have guided the People, and have never led us astray, for they listen to the voice of Ghilan'nain. — From The Tale of Ghilan'nain, as told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves"

[miraculan-draws]

Morrigan being good and gentle with kids makes me CRY like she knows so little about the world outside but she knows that the way SHE was treated as a child was wrong. And she won't do that to kids already hurting.

Like the short story about giving the little girl in Lothering one of the feathers off of her mantle? That is so sweet. That is so wonderful. She talks a big talk about not having time for the random acts of kindness the Warden volunteers for wherever they go, but she does little things like this all on her own. You just can't call her out on it.

And KIERAN oh my god. She loves that little boy so much. She watched Flemeth take the Old God Soul and didn't give two shits, it wasn't about that anymore, it was about her SON. She was so scared!! "Kieran. Stays. With ME." And how fiercely GENTLE and EMOTIONAL standing up to Flemeth was. "I am many things. But I will not be the mother that you were to me." I am CRYING???

Overall I think Morrigan's role with the eluvian should have been Merrill—that there were other places in the story to have introduced Morrigan and Kieran if we would end up knowing Flemeth and Mythal are entwined. BUT. Morrigan and Kieran are so important to me.

( Also I love that you can tell the voice actors are mother and son too, even in a little kid you can hear those like dark crackly timbre qualities it was such a cute and fun choice)

[thebaldursmouthgazette]

We know Flemeth is Mythal, or rather contains a part of Mythal. And we know Mythal came to her after she was betrayed. But Flemeth was born in the towers age, only 600 or so years before the events of origins. Mythal was murdered thousands of years before that. Where was she all that time?

I think I know

Andraste was another woman who was betrayed, and who had an entity come to her in that moment. Who had daughters who had only daughters who had only daughters. Sound like anyone we know?

But wait, there’s more

In another post I discussed the circumstances of Andrastes birth. The gist is, her mother was part of a tribe who helped the grey wardens fight and defeat Dumat during the first blight. The warden who killed Dumat and absorbed his soul was never identified, and later that year andraste was born. Andraste was a strange child, who behaved in a way that seems quite similar to the way old god Kieran behaves in dai.

I think it’s quite likely that andraste was present as a fetus at the battle against Dumat, and upon dumats death the soul went to her instead of a grey warden (not that I think being absorbed by a warden actually defeats them. I think that’s gonna be a fun little surprise for later).

Which would make Dumat Mythal. Dumats constellation Silentir is also associated with Mythal, so that doesn’t come from nowhere. Also, solas makes a comment at the temple of Mythal about how silence reigns here, and Dumat is the god of silence. Yes he could be saying silence as in emptiness, but the temple wasn’t empty and we know that the writers love a good proper noun/common noun misdirect (what Pride had wrought indeed).

This would explain her absence for so long. She wasn’t killed and then waited for a few thousand years doing nothing before finding Flemeth. She was also trapped in the black city with the other evanuris, infected by the blight. Perhaps the murder solas refers to was simply the other evanuris infecting her with the taint. Perhaps he thought she was fully dead and was mistaken.

When Dumat was defeated Mythals soul ended up in Andraste, cured of the taint. The process was likely less refined than the ritual eventually given to us by Flemeth, so she was not able to properly manifest. Until years later Andraste was betrayed, as she had also been betrayed, and she decided to help her. Notable parts of Andrastianism and the chant of light include the focus on women, and the maker having said his children caused the blight. Everyone assumed this was children in the sense of a creator god referring to his creations, but Mythal was the mother of the evanuris. She was referring to her actual children (or people she saw as her children anyway).

I think she followed Andrastes line down for a few hundred years until it ended in some way (with at some point Andrastes soul possibly being put in a dragon body), and then she moved to Flemeth and followed that line of daughters down. This is what Flemeth means when she says she has crawled and clawed her way through the ages. I think it’s interesting that she feels she has been denied justice when Solas imprisoned the evanuris for killing her. And I think it’s interesting her plan for achieving that justice involves curing the other evanuris of the blight. I don’t think Solas understands the situation as much as he thinks.

But OP, I hear you say, there are 7 old gods and the numbers only add up if you take Mythal and solas away from the 9 evanuris! Except, there aren’t 7 old gods. There’s a theory among scholars in thedas that there was an 8th old god, struck from the record. This old god would have had imagery associated with sea monsters, something ghilan’nain is associated with. She was the youngest of the evanuris, so it would make sense if she was later not considered really a god.

All that doesn’t add up is there are only 2 evanuris left to be freed when solas’ ritual goes wrong, and I feel like people have been meddling with the fade enough recently for one of them to slip through the cracks.

[defiledtomb]

If the gods are blighted and Mythal, the all mother; if her will passed onto morrigan through the well and the spirit of flemeth who carried it before...

why such an odd fashion choice, bioware?! It's a statement from composition to similarity in the bust. SURELY. SURELY.

[roguelioness]

I'm back with my tin foil hat on, spoilers beneath the cut-

So the two creatures rising up at the end of the gameplay trailer - I suspect it's Ghila'nain and Elgar'nan, and here's why I think so (this is just speculation!)

(I tried to get the best closeups I could!)

You can see the two beings rising up here:

The figure on the left is, i suspect, Ghila'nain

From The Horror of Hormak it's implied Ghila'nain had an interest in creatures with many limbs. the figure has several appendages in addition to the normal pair of arms.

It's interesting that the face is entirely hidden - or, at the very least, that mask is covering the eyes, because Ghila'nain's story involves losing them-

From the codex entry for Ghila'nain:

Ghilan'nain followed the hunter, and when they were away from all of her sisters, the hunter turned on Ghilan'nain. He blinded her first, and then bound her as one would bind a kill fresh from the hunt.

If she doesn't have eyes, it makes sense that she would cover them up. There's also her mosaic from the Temple of Mythal that could be taken as extra appendages:

(granted the mosaic in its entirety had those as part of halla horns, but... why are they covered in the same material as the face?) I think - going off of HoH - she was at one point Andruil's priestess, and at some point of time (perhaps when Andruil went hunting into the void) discovered the weird green lyrium which she then used to conduct her terrifying experiments. And because of that ability, she was granted ascension. Whether or not she transformed herself into that creature pre- or post-ascension is something I hope we'll learn (was it done deliberately? or was it a side effect? so many questions!)

Now my reasoning for this being Elgar'nan is a bit shakier; the first thing that made me go hmmm was a line from the Dragon Age Day trailer:

"All the world will soon share the peace and comfort of my reign."

That to me reads like Head-of-the-Pantheon kind of speech (I told you my reasoning was shaky lol)

But the other thing that has my raising my eyebrows is, well, Flemythal. The Chasind know Flemeth as Mother of Vengeance, and Elgar'nan is considered to be the god of vengeance (and Mythal's husband). Flemeth's speech about Mythal - "she was betrayed, as I was betrayed, as the world was betrayed" I thought referred to the veil's creation, but I'm beginning to wonder if it was a reference to Elgarn'an, seeing as he (along with Mythal) were supposed to have remade the world (from the codex entry for Mythal). If Elgar'nan took part in her murder, it could be seen as him (metaphorically) betraying the world. The other thing that caught my eye was his mosaic from Temple of Mythal:

The figure in the mosaic has two curves going outward from the shoulder region, which matches the armor the figure in the trailer is wearing. Granted this could mean nothing, seeing as how Flemeth's attire (specifically her hair) more resembles the mosaic for Mythal's dragon form than Mythal herself, but considering none of the other mosaics had anything similar to this makes me think Elgar'nan is the likeliest candidate.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my ted talk :D

[ladyofc]

I don't know why people see Solas and Flemeth in some romantic light, or hell Mythal and Solas. I have a hard time believing Solas would even consider a romance with an inquisitor if that was even the case.

Mythal is literally called the All-mother, because she was the one to discover Lyrium and then created the first physical bodies of the Elvhen, it's even in her Vallaslin. Its literally a dragon made of Lyrium.

Cole even says that Mythal called him to a body, which i imagine is similar to a mother giving birth for the Elvhen. since they are spirits.

Solas is Mythal's favorite child because hes the only one that obeys her command, all the Evanuris literally beat the shit out of Falon'din, Andruil literally went insane, Ghilian'nian was a Mad scientist, im sure the others were horrible too. Solas in comparison is literally a saint.

So of course Mythal is going to cradle his face, lean her head against his.

[dreadwxlf]

Anonymous sent: Of the other Evanuris which top 3 did you find most tolerable and which top 3 did you find least tolerable, back in the days?

~ " Mythal was the only one I cared for, and I suppose June and Sylaise were the most tolerable out of the others. I deeply despised Falon'Din, Elgar'nan, and Andruil, for various reasons. " ~

[crestwood-survivor]

Mythal in the Deep Roads Pt. 2: Trespasser DLC

Everyone who has played through the Trespasser DLC already knows that the ancient elves were in the deep roads, but I noticed some things in my most recent playthrough that I haven’t seen discussed. Mainly, the coffin room:

But let’s go through the area first. We exit the Eluvian and find ourselves in this weird combination of elven-dwarven ruins beneath Thedas. One of the things that stood out to me about this area is how Evanuris symbols we find (or at least I could find) are Mythal’s and Fen’Harel’s. There are two giant Mythal statues in this section, one is near the Eluvian we enter:

And the other is deeper into the area:

There's this one:

And finally two handing over the "coffin room" at the very back of this area:

There's also lots of wolf statues, some framing the eluvian:

Or caved in hallways:

On the path leading through the area:

And framing the "balcony" overlooking the coffin room:

Notice what there isn’t? Any statues for the other gods.

All the other elven ruins we’ve seen have had multiple gods portrayed in them, even in temples dedicated to one specific god. For example, the Temple of Mythal had a whole separate area depicting the other gods as well as hart and owl statues. The Temple of Dirthamen also had hart statues and statues of Mythal and Fen’harel. But in the deep roads? It’s only Mythal and Fen’harel. This to me implies that whatever operation was going on the deep roads, it was Mythal’s project.

Let’s go over some of the comments companions make in the area.

Cole has a few things to say. The first thing he’ll say is: “Songs screaming far away. It wants to wake up but can’t remember how.  No one should be here.”

This immediately made me think that Cole was referring to a Titan. Lyrium, the blood of the titans, is frequently described as singing. Cole makes similar comments if you take him through the deep roads in The Deep Descent DLC. Valta also describes what she hears from the Titan as a song, but she also tells us something else that’s important: Titans do not stir lightly. The Titan from the Deep Descent was asleep for a thousand years, and only woke up and started causing trouble because the breach disturbed it. Cole says that the songs are screaming far away, so it’s possible that this is a dormant titan that is near the area we are in.

Dorian will say: “It shouldn’t be this dark. Dwarven buildings are lit by molten rock. That doesn’t just go out.”

I’m not sure what to make of this comment, but it seemed odd to me. Maybe someone else has thoughts on this?

Further in, Cole will make a comment about the Qunari and Lyrium: “The stone sings. The song scares them. It’s the wrong song, the wrong blood. They don’t know how we stand it.”

Is this suggesting that Qunari have a greater sensitivity to Lyrium? What does the “wrong blood” mean? Is it referring to the Lyrium, the titan’s blood, or the Qunari’s blood? If Cole is referring to the Qunari’s blood, this wouldn’t be the first time someone has commented on their blood in the game. Kieran can comment on the Qunari Inquisitors blood at Skyhold if he has the Old God soul:

Kieran: You're the Inquisitor. You're very tall. Mother didn't say you were a Qunari.

Inquisitor: Oh? I'm told it's the first thing one notices about me.

Kieran: I noticed your blood. It doesn't belong to your people.

Here’s where things might get a little tin-foily.

When we get to the end of this area, the part looking over the coffin room, Cole will say:

“They’re all singing. Coffers, coffins, corpses that aren’t dead. A song crying out in the dark.”

The type of coffins/tombs we see in this area can be found in other parts of the main game. Here is an up-close screenshot of the tombs in this area:

And here is an example of the same type of tomb from the Solasan Temple, which is also associated with elves:

Based of Cole’s comment, I think the tombs we see in this room may contain ancient elves that are in uthenera. The “corpses that aren’t dead” part is what really makes me think this is the case. Uthenera is described as an alternative to dying for the ancient elves. When they didn’t want to be a part of the world anymore, they went into uthenera. It sounds similar to a coma. Abelas calls it the blissful sleep that never ends. The Mythal statues poised above the tombs, looking down on them/watching over them, makes me think that these are some of her people that have been put into Uthenera.

I’m not done with this topic yet; I still want to discuss the notes left behind by a dalish Qunari, but this post is already stupid long so it will have to wait.

[cumbiazevran]

also okay so these are my interpretations of each of the Pantheon's realm

Elgar'nan — Vengeance, protection and righteous anger. Lord over and under the sun, father of Gods, Magnificent among the rest of them. Lord of War, victory and love which knows no bounds. Bearer of loss. His is the light of the sun and the task of protecting the future of the Elvhen, there where no justice can serve.

Mythal — Justice, protection and wisdom. Lady over and under the moon, who comes and rules the sea, mother of Gods, Magnificent among the rest of them and loved by Elgar'nan. Lady of Strategy, public rejoice and stability. Bearer of growth. Hers is the hope in the night and the task of seeing over all civic life.

Dirthamen — Knowledge, Secrets and Piety*, of the unwavering loyalty and quickest of understandings. Heir to the time of Endless Creation which is to come after the War and, therefore, Heir of Mythal and Elgar'nan. Lord of Serenity and quiet but undying passion, his are the mountains and the stars. Undaunted by Fear and Deceit, all lies and betrayals are abhorrent to him. His is the task to record all history.

*Not to be mistaken with solidarity between peoples.

Falon'din — Time and death. The one untouched by Blight, who cannot be tainted by the Void. Scryer of the futures of Elvhenan because only he knows the weight of time involved in their becoming. Shepard of the Dead. Considered the Eldest in merit of the children of Elgar'nan and Mythal, first of the children to bear a realm. He's the only Creator/Evanuris who can actually understand and feel the passing of time. Because of this, he is owed reverence.

Sylaise — Creativity, diplomacy and peace. Lady of Fire and Home, who reminds of the importance of temperance in one's endeavours. She who gave the Elvhen the gift of creating beauty for beauty's sake. Lady of mourning, as she bears all that for war is lost. Hers are the arts, the gift of gab and of medicine, which she rules over with her brother Dirthamen, Heir of the Elvhen. Her is the task of peaceful resolution of disputes.

June — Resourcefulness, material creation, craftsmanship, commerce and mastery over one's actions. Giver of joy and kindness, pillar of peace as there cannot be peace in lacking, protector of quartermasters and workers alike, to whom nothing is impossible. Husband of Sylaise. His is the task of invention, as he bears the weight of curiosity and love which asks for nothing in return.

Andruil — Fortune, chances, sacrifice, births and rot. Lady of the Hunt and of Survival. Master of swiftness and over-looker of Oaths — to swear on her name and not complete the task is to invite bad luck to the oath-breaker. Lady of resolute action, who is predator and prey. Thematically, she is the most opposed to Sylaise.

Ghilan'nain — Dire circumstances, guidance, overcoming obstacles and navigation. Lady of crossroads and pathways, hers are the river-ways and trails. Protector of trailblazers and patroness of the inevitability of choice. Most beloved by Andruil. Bearer of travelling, and therefore, of yearning, distances, but also of discovery.

Fen'Harel — Deception, lies, illusions, missed opportunities and trickery. The compass to what is Not. Teacher of bitter lessons. Lord of Lost Youth, false hopes and exile. Bearer of Guilt and the cost of Pride. He is an omen of danger and is drawn by fear. Thematically, most opposed to Dirthamen.

[weavewithshadow]

Were those just theories in the Titan/ Lyrium War post?! I need to know all the things!!

Half theories! I've seen a few codices that I've been thinking on for a long time. So here's my reason behind why I used the tags I did on that post.

This is very, very long. But it's the best collection I can cobble together of all the reasons I think these things.

Beware: HORROR OF HORMAK story spoilers at the bottom of this post!

"Mythal and Elgar'nan are both cited as mining/carving slain titans for their lyrium."

In the light of the veilfire, the runes seem to shift, coiling and uncoiling like snakes. A thunderous voice shatters the stillness, shouting: "Hail Mythal, adjudicator and savior! She has struck down the pillars of the earth and rendered their demesne unto the People! Praise her name forever!" For a moment, the scent of blood fills the air, and there is a vivid image of green vines growing and enveloping a sphere of fire. The vision grows dark. An aeon seems to pass. Then the runes crackle, as if filled with an angry energy. A new vision appears: elves collapsing caverns, sealing the Deep Roads with stone and magic. Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast. A voice whispers: "What the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would end us all. Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger. The People must rise before their false gods destroy them all."

The Titans are referred to as "the pillars of the earth" often enough that it's made it onto the Dragon Age wiki. Mythal slew at least one Titan and then gave that Titan's demesme (lands or domain) to the People (the ancient elves). The ending text of this codex makes it sound like this was later something regretted, if not by Mythal, then by the other elves of the time.

You can also see PLENTY of Mythal statues in the Deep Roads, particularly during Trespasser — curiously, with wolves always guarding the doors.

Ghilan'nain's statues feature almost as prominently in these places.

The pages of this book—memory?—describe a monument made in a single afternoon by a thousand-thousand toiling servants swarming over a lump of fallen stone as large as a collapsed mountain. By the end of the day, the stern figure of Elgar'nan stares down into a valley, carved out from the foothills of the rock. The slaves have disappeared. Light radiates from the eidolon's narrowed eyes and its open, snarling mouth. "Hail Elgar'nan, first among the gods! Mark his victory eternal!"

I take this to mean Titans/lyrium because of how widespread it is that Elgar'nan threw the sun into the earth and then brought it back out. In ancient elvhen, the words for sun (elgara) and spirit (elgar) are almost the exact same. This could mean bringing spirits (or bringing spirits against their will) into the Earth (the Titans' domain).

"It is very possible the evanuris made their own bodies out of lyrium."

This one is more theorycrafting than anything, and I'll direct you to this video where a lot of things started clicking into place for me.

But I want to add this codex to the discussion as well.

Many of these pages are filled with sketches of elven statues matching the ones found in the area, along with notes and what look like attempts to practice Qunlat: Trying to remember that old bedtime song about Mythal. My mother sang it the night before the darkspawn came for my clan. It's the last time I ever heard her voice. Ir sa tel'nal, Mythal las ma theneras. Ir san'a emma. Him solas evanuris. Da'durgen'lin, Banal malas elgara. Bellanaris, bellanaris.

Now, for the purposes of this discussion, we're going to ignore the provided translation, because we know that translation is wrong in a few spots. From my best understanding, this is as close as I can translate it.

I am [one] [not/never] [nal], Mythal grants [you/me] dreams, I [am/was] [here] [within], [Becomes/Became] Solas evanuris. Little stone [boy], Nothing [given/granted] to [the sun], Forever, forever.

Everything [in brackets] is an educated guess, the best as I can make it.

If I've gotten the translation close to right, this describes Solas, a spirit that is called to take the shape of a "little stone boy," becoming one of the Evanuris at Mythal's behest.

"They made unliving champions with no need to breathe to fight on their behalf."

A codex entry!

The pages of this book—memory?—show a narrow plateau on top of a mountain, Two armored figures—one in gold, one in black—are fighting in the snow. Steel flickers so fast the air hums. Blood dots the ground. They do not stop for breath. The one in black makes no sound as a blade parts his throat. "Mythal, in her wisdom, interceded in an argument between Elgar'nan and Falon'Din. With clever words, she convinced them to settle their grievance through a battle of their champions. Elgar'nan and Falon'Din agreed, and set their champions against each other rather than declare war among the gods. May those knights long be remembered, and Mythal's wisdom be praised."

Worth noting, this codex is titled "Duel of a Hundred Years."

These things aren't human! They bleed, but don't breathe. They never stop fighting. This duel lasts 100 years.

"Ghilan'nain's lab is fueled by lyrium that causes those awful mutations."

I don't have screencaps to pull quotes from, but it's yellow-green lyrium at the center of the part of Ghilan'nain's lab in Horror of Hormak that monsters are coming out of, and this lyrium is what's exploded to destroy the lab and all its creatures.

Honorable Mentions:

• Andruil's entire story with her trips to the Void make me think of the abyss being the deep underground (and the endless sky very deep underground), and Mythal sapping Andruil's strength and storing her memories makes me think of lyrium.

• Solas talking about Falon'din in the Temple of Mythal makes me think that amassing more worshippers may well have meant creating them from Mythal's lyrium stores.

INQUISITOR: Do you know any legends? SOLAS: It is said Falon’Din’s appetite for adulation was so great, he began wars to amass more worshippers. The blood of those who wouldn’t bow low filled lakes as wide as oceans. Mythal rallied the gods, once the shadow of Falon’Din’s hunger stretched across her own people. It was almost too late. Falon’Din only surrendered when his brethren bloodied him in his own temple. INQUISITOR: Did ancient elves believe all their gods so terrifying? SOLAS: Yes. I believe they did.

SO YEAH!! Lyrium war! Lyrium war, I say!!! It's on my Veilguard bingo card for sure—either as an explanation of what came before, something that will begin in Veilguard, or both.

[lectorel]

Reached the temple of Mythal, and Abelas has that line: "Our' people? The ones we see in the forest, shadows wearing vallaslin? You are not my people."

Na'din flashes through the five stages of grief in a split second, and then circles back to anger. It's a good thing mind-reading is not a skill the ancient elves have, or the entire temple would have caught her sardonic observation, 'Not your people? But you have so much in common, with that attitude of yours.'

She's seen it enough, from Solas, from Sera, from members of her own clan towards city elves and between clans as well. I don't like how you live, I don't like what you believe, you are less than me for these things.

If she had to name the Elvhen's cardinal sin, it must be this - their stubborn pride, in all its forms, their refusal to see one another as kin for the smallest of reasons.

Na'din was named for death, for the loss of her mother in the birthing bed, and sometimes it felt like she was the only one willing to acknowledge its silent presence. Life was fragile, and so easily lost when you stood alone. How many of her people would rather die than find kinship with those they looked down on? How many had?

She was so tired of fighting this battle, and so sick of being the only one willing to.

[felassan]

🔍 Leafing through some old posts

releasing the Evanuris (Blighted?) and ALSO MAYBE the Blight? as in THE Blight. not a blight, the mother of ALL blights

-- 5 year old post

IGN preview: "The Blight, well, it was a slow-moving wall. It didn't have this almost-sentient, this almost-thought behind it. We've talked about how the gods that are out are Blighted. That probably has something to do with it."

I think [the Evanuris] sought to harness [the Blight], to use its power too. a bioweapon. 

-- 6 year old post

IGN preview: "The Blight is an organic weapon."

bindings, weaving, meshing, grafts (like different parts of different beasts being stitched together); the aim to improve coordination and sharpen the heart (the new darkspawn are more clever than the old ones) [...] given that organic life in our world originally crawled out of the sea during evolution (not unlike Mythal), I wonder if, with the saltwater pools and all, Ghilan’nain was trying to do what amounts to recreating the conditions which lead to the formation of organic life from inorganic materials. abiogenesis - the origin of life

-- 4 year old posts

IGN preview: "She uses Blight like a medium, to sculpt and warp. There are Blight pools, the darkspawn aren't just coming out of nowhere. The Blight is spawning them. Ghilan'nain, who has always been focused on using the Blight as essentially a crafting material, a way to alter life itself."