#also by the time of veilguard he's been a warden for long enough that he might be hearing a real calling...

[manfred-volkarin]

still don't know if anders was hearing the false calling during the events of DAI btw. Hawke's warden contact mentions that "every warden in orlais" hears it and says he hears it too...but you're in eastern fereldan when he says it????

so is it every warden in southern thedas? (so anders would hear it too) every warden in orlais and it follows you if you leave? (so anders wouldn't hear it)

[felassan]

David Gaider on Kieran, under a cut for length:

"CHARACTERS - DAY TWO: Kieran (Technically this is an addendum to yesterday, but I make the rules here so nyah!) Heading into DAI, I had a bite-sized problem on my hands. I knew Morrigan would feature. I also knew we were importing previous choices. So now I had to contend with: the Old God Baby. Here's the thing about honouring previous game choices, from a design perspective: it's a sucker's game. What many fans picture, when you mention it, is divergent *plot* -- the story changes path based on those major choices. How exciting! But you will never be able to deliver divergent plot. You can deliver flavour differences (usually in the form of divergent dialogue), character swaps (character X appears instead of Y), and extra content (such as a side quest) -- but plot branching, particularly the critical path? It's a question of resources, and there's never enough to go around. "Here Lies the Abyss" in DAI was about as good as it gets, and even that was a far cry from how I originally pictured it (hello last-minute insert of Stroud when a DAO Warden import got cut). The Old God Baby was one of the main choices from DAO -- Morrigan has a baby? With the Archdemon's soul?! Most DAO players who flagged that choice surely expected *monumental* consequences. World-shaking consequences! And we talked about it. We did. There were, like, three different designs of the DAI ending where OGB Kieran could cause complete divergence: new path, cutscenes, the whole nine yards. But it wasn't going to happen. It was a decision from *two games ago* that only a small minority (hello telemetry) would even choose. To the rest, they probably neither knew about it nor cared... so how many resources could you invest? To do what? Set up an even bigger divergence for the NEXT game? The other writers acknowledged my anxiety with a grim nod every time it came up, but they had no solutions. Finally, I realized there WAS a solution, and that was changing how I thought about the choice: don't make it about Kieran. The players don't know him, never have. Make it about Morrigan. Thus began a feverish three days where I wrote probably the most complicated scene of my career: Morrigan's reckoning with Flemeth in DAI and the fallout after. Three different versions (OGB Kieran, non-OGB Kieran, and no Kieran), each with branching for other choices (like the Well of Sorrows). I did it all at once. There was no other way to wrap my head around the complexity of it. It was also a tough sell to the team, considering the amount of cinematics work, but they agreed we had to do *something*. And still it felt... underwhelming, insofar as divergence goes. But it was also good. I remember when I first spoke with Claudia, about how this was Morrigan's story. This was about how motherhood had changed her, how she'd grown up. Claudia got a bit teary-eyed. It was a journey she was familiar with, she said. Her first son, Odin, had been born in 2005 not long after DAO came out. And, man, she killed with that performance! Kate, too, but I'll get to her later. Claudia dug down, and that scene where Morrigan tells Flemeth she'll never be the mother Flemeth was to her? That came from someplace very raw. It was devastating to witness in the booth. There were tears all around. Not long after, Claudia called and asked if maybe - just maybe - Odin could play Kieran? He was a bit young (not yet 5, then), but it felt... right? We agreed. Claudia was in the booth, gently coaching him through his lines, and I think that was the first moment I felt I'd done the right thing."

[source thread]

User: "Do you find it an odd choice that Kieran hasn’t been mentioned at all in Veilguard?" David Gaider: "If there’s less reactivity in DATV, I’m unsurprised. Continuing choice from up to 3 games earlier is… unsupportable. Yet DA established the expectation they would so… damned if you do, damned if you don’t?" [source]

User: "EA is one of the biggest game companies ever. I don't think more complex diverging plots are impossible." David Gaider: "Well, if only more writing was all it took. Sadly, it's also cinematics. Art time for all those reappearing characters you probably want to look *just* right. And let's not forget we have to test all those permutations! So I don't disagree with you in spirit, but I don't think it's the answer here." [source]

User: "is there a possibility of future kieran appearances in a book or something similar outside of the games?" David Gaider: "I'd have no way of knowing that." [source]

User: "I’m actually shocked so little people chose the dark ritual. That was basically the main reason Flemeth sent Morrigan with the wardens, no?" David Gaider: "The impression you get of what "most" players do - in almost any game, not just DA - is very different if you're online a lot. Consider here that it's not just the % of DAO players who chose the Dark Ritual, it's the % of DAI players WHO PLAYED DAO and cared to import that choice 5 years later." [source]

User: "Is there anything you wish you had done differently, in hindsight?" David Gaider: "Probably just to not ever do importing choices between games in the first place." [source]

User: "Kieran only existed in my DAI state b/c Morrigan as a mother really appealed to me. I wasn't expecting to be devastated by those scenes 😭 I guess when we complain about lack of consequences from prev choices in DAV we must also ask how MUCH are we willing to pay for those branches to exist?" David Gaider: "That's indeed it. Content directed towards reactivity would have to come from somewhere else. So essentially a shorter game overall for the sake of those hardcore fans who'd import - who would, I imagine, REALLY enjoy that... but it's a tough cost/benefit analysis to make." [source]

User: "mr gaider im gonna keep it real with you if i had to choose between my hof and hawke i would've simply passed away" David Gaider: "Right? That was the ENTIRE idea! I was very excited, and for a while it seemed possible." [source]

User: "This has been a very interesting read but I have to ask why they decided to use Stroud instead of the HoF" David Gaider: "1) Complexity of providing means for a player to build a Warden (which they did in DATV for the Inquisitor). Also spoiled the surprise. 2) We’d have needed to give the Warden a voice. Add these to the cost and it was deemed not worth it." [source]

User: "Genuine question, not a critique - but what made the OGB decision one that couldn't be handwaved as canon no matter what was or wasn't chosen? Leliana and Flemeth being around no matter what come to mind. Was OGB simultaneously too major and too minor of a decision?" David Gaider: "Flemeth and Leliana being alive were easily explainable, and we knew we were doing it even back then. Circumventing the Dark Ritual… that would be too cheap. We did talk about it, but it just felt too dishonest. Too high a price for what we’d get in return." [source]

David Gaider: "If I’d known the Well of Sorrows would only see reactivity in the confrontation with Flemeth, I’d probably have made a much bigger deal of it." [source]

David Gaider: "We could maybe have gotten past the need to "reconstruct" the Warden, much like the Inquisitor was reconstructed in DATV (so I understand), but the need to give the Warden a voice was the final nail. Too potentially disappointing for the very people who'd be excited about it, aside from the cost." [source]

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

I've been thinking a lot today about how easily people condemn Solas for making the choices he did or for so regularly refusing the help and love his friends or a romanced Lavellan extended to him and how that's a very easy thing to do from behind a screen in a fictional game where you are able to (with very few exceptions) curate a world in which your allies are loyal and your decisions will go the way you'd like them to.

And yeah, it's a game and that's kind of the point, but if I were to look at it a little more deeply (and who am I kidding, I got back on this website exclusively to process the aftermath of Veilguard) I'd say that there's so much to be found in wondering if the protagonists in any of the other games would have fared better in similar conditions.

Apparently I can't stop making long posts, so buckle in.

What would Morrigan have become in a world where the Warden never stumbled upon her cottage with Flemeth, if she never got the chance to see more of the world and decide what she wanted out of it? With just her mother (who, coincidentally in this Solas-y discussion is also kind of Mythal) and no support, who is to say what she would have unleashed upon the Korcari Wilds one day when the confines of her cage became too much?

What about Leliana? She, too, suffered at the hands of a very controlling abuser who tried to convince her that one lifestyle was all that her future held. What do we think she would have become if not for a chance meeting in Lothering with someone who could help her face down the woman that molded her?

Fenris, a character MANY people are just fine with was incredibly ready to kill a mage on sight if need be, no questions asked. Where do we think his story goes if he doesn't have someone in his corner early on enough in the game? If he doesn't get caught by Danarius, he's almost certainly going to end up on a murder spree, and he doesn't even have Justice whispering in his head to do it.

Cullen. Just all of him. It's an absolute miracle he hasn't snapped by the time you encounter him in Inquistion, and even then you get the benefit of intervening at a critical point in his story several times over.

Almost every other character could face this analysis and I think we'd reach a result that suggests perhaps the only thing keeping them lovable is your playable character's investment in their well-being.

Enter Solas. We don't meet him when he's twenty to thirty something and on the precipice of falling down a dark path. He's been there for literal millennia already, and with the exception of one close friend he's been alone. And not even Felassan is enough because of the years Mythal had prior to that friendship to make Solas exactly who she needed him to be.

I've had shit friends before that aren't just good at isolating people, they're naturals. I barely made it through high school with my mental health in place (in fact, looking back, it almost certainly wasn't). When you think you've got a true friend and they need something of you, it's so easy to blindly follow them because you think your love is enough to mark someone's soul as trustworthy. Solas doesn't learn that lesson until it's too late, and even when he does he can't turn back: the spirit that was once Wisdom has been exposed to several of the worst ancient elves to ever exist and now he has to stand his ground rather than let it all fall, because that is what Pride would dictate. Admitting that the person you gave your love and labor and time to is a monster is hard. And he was alone.

Give me Morrigan after centuries with her mother. Show me Leliana after the years have become a blur and the only voice whispering in her ear is Marjolaine's. Show me the innocent mages that don't make it through if all Fenris has for years and years and years are the scars Danaris left him and the means to make more. Show me Cullen if he stays in a chain of command under a Knight Commander who knows exactly what he fears and holds it over his head for so long he forgets what it was like to be an excited kid begging the templars for training because he just wants to keep people safe.

We get companions in these games who are broken by the time they're twenty. Solas has spent thousands of years in servitude to a cause of a woman he believed to be his only friend. He doesn't know who he is without her influence, anymore, only exists physically in the first place because she asked it of him and then asked again and again and again. He doesn't have a witty band of merry fools to pull him out of that cycle. He has Felassan, but he has him during war after war after war in the hopes of freeing others from the very situation that torments him.

Trauma from war affects everyone touched by it, nevermind the fact that Solas is actively responsible for saving the lives of thousands and feels each life like a weight around his neck because maybe he can save them like he cannot save himself. We should always be worried about the people trying to do the most good. Who is looking out for them? Why are they so determined to help others? Could it be that it's something they wish others had done for them?

Solas certainly feels comradery with Felassan from working together to free slaves from the very people he helped put in power because Mythal told him it would be okay only to leave him with the pieces, but even the Solas that Felassan knows has been turned into an attack dog shying away from the touch of the very person it desires to be near above all others by the time their relationship forms.

The fact that Solas is able to try and show the Inquisitor who he is at all is a miracle as far as I'm concerned, a sign of a peaceful spirit of Wisdom who loves knowledge for the sake of it finally sensing that there might be a chance to embrace its nature again.

Yeah, if you give him what he has come to expect from people with power, if you let near-absolute power over the masses corrupt you, he's going to bristle and try to shut your inquisitor down.

But if you show him even the smallest bit of kindness? If you treat him like the starving wolf he talks about and feed him instead of fighting him? God, it shatters his entire existence.

It's called a cycle of abuse for a reason. Finding friendship, finding the love of your long-ass life can be the first step in realizing there's better out there. But the time it takes to learn that? When you're too weary to even reach out for help in the first place and afraid of every kind word or gesture because you've never known such tenderness (on a platonic OR romantic level, both matter so so much) before?

Part of the compelling tragedy of Solas is that it's almost Orpheus-like how he knows what he has been made into and still cannot stop himself from yearning for more, from turning around to see if just this once something has changed. You can't convince me that he hasn't spent years hoping that someone will hear the legend of the Dread Wolf and see it for what it is, a leash the Evanuris created for Mythal's whipping boy to ensure that even if he ever escapes them, the people he fought to save will hate him. And I cannot blame him for the shock and terror that consumes him when he realizes someone finally has.

You give me any of dragon age companions after the amount of time Solas spent under Mythal's thumb without your character's intervention and you tell me how that looks.

You tell me if they're able to change at the first sign of something that feels too good to be true.

And then, I want you to tell me they're any less worthy of trying to save, especially when you know how good their best can be.

Solas might be hard for some fans to love, but it's only because he serves as the perfect representation of the beast we are all capable of becoming when the love that sustains us, assuming we receive any at all, is laced with poison.

The journey out of that place, out of a literal prison of regret, is brutal, and I'm thrilled that even with the many things about Veilguard I'm still struggling with, we have the chance to let Solas try again with the help of those who love him not because he never fell down, but because they believe in the beauty of a future where he gets back up again.

[cadaveerie]

spoilers for DA2, DAI, DATV (from things seen in the first Dragon Age: The Veilguard gameplay reveal, and from the character designs and descriptions) and Tevinter Nights (The Horror of Hormak)

Trying to guess what gods Davrin and Bellara's vallaslin represent

Long post ahead. TLDR at the end!

I suppose that someone has already made some comparison like this, but I couldn't find any post that compares the images like this so I'm doing one!

Firstly, the source: The chart in which the vallaslin were assigned to their gods for the first time was posted by Matt Rhodes (post).

The vallaslin used in that chart are from Dragon Age: Inquisition, so we don't have an official confirmation for the vallaslin of DAO or DA2. The designs are different in those two games, but they're similar enough to make a guess. For further reference, aside from the confirmed DAI version I'll try to assign the vallaslin that I suspect might be Davrin and Bellara's to their respective DAO version.

Now, the post itself is under the cut:

Davrin - Ghilan'nain

Ghilan'nain is the elven goddess of guides and navigation. She is often called the Mother of the halla—white deer-like creatures revered by the Dalish and used to pull their aravel, or "landships".

Comparison to DAO's, this is the most likely to be Ghilan'nain's vallaslin, in my opinion. This image belongs to codexapocryphal, who made this post. After looking at all the vallaslin, I agree with them that this is the one that's most likely to be Ghilan'nain's.

Ghilan'nain is my best guess for Davrin.

The reasoning:

Theme

The Mother of the Halla, a goddess closely related to animals, who loves and protects them, and who herself became the first halla. The goddess that created countless monsters so wild that she had to destroy most of them after her beloved pleaded her to stop (Codex: The Ascension of Ghilan'nain). And possibly, she might have been the one responsible for the events of The Horror of Hormak, a story in Tevinter Nights that narrates how two Grey Wardens find a temple that, coincidentally, is full of halla horns symbolism in its columns, and in which from a strange pool come out horrifying mutated darkspawn and monsters. There's also some other symbolism in the story that suggests that it might be Ghilan'nain's doing, but that's the most obvious one (aside from the fact that the pool is straight up creating monsters, as Ghilan'nain is known to do).

She is also said to help Dalish hunters find their way home when they're lost. And all of that -- the hunter, the monster and the animal elements, sound very accurate to Davrin, who is both a monster hunter and one of the Grey Wardens that were assigned to raise a griffon (perhaps he loves animals like she does, that'd be cute :D).

Additionally, if it turns out that it's indeed Ghilan'nain's vallaslin, we will probably end up getting this information in-game, since Ghilan'nain is one of the gods that Solas (and Rook) freed by accident. Oops.

Design

Based on the design alone, I think you could easily see a halla's horns in it. However, I think it can be a little hard to properly identify which vallaslin we are talking about by only looking at the forehead, since some of the designs look very similar to each other, especially in the forehead region.

Having said that, I think that if we look both at his forehead and chin, the Ghilan'nain vallaslin design from Inquisition is the most similar to Davrin's, since both vallaslin occupy the forehead and the chin only and the "horns" are making similar shapes.

Other reasons

One of the reasons why I believe it might be hers as well is because it would make a very interesting conflict for Davrin. The monster hunter who has to fight this... monster-looking creature, that on top of that is the goddess his vallaslin represents?

And it's even crazier if we consider what Solas reveals to f!Lavellan in one of their romance scenes: that the vallaslin are actually slave markings that nobles forced their slaves to get. I wonder what Davrin (and Bellara, and a Dalish Rook) would think if they knew this... And I wonder what a god would think if they saw an elf with one of their symbols on their face. Would they believe they're a slave dedicated to them? Who knows, if some of the theories out there are true, perhaps the gods themselves could have some control over them. Not sure how likely that is, but it would be interesting and add yet another layer of drama (and maybe it's reaching, but it reminds me to what happens if you bring Anders with you to the Deep Roads in the Legacy DLC, that he turns against the team. I wonder if something like that would be possible if you bring Davrin along and have to fight this goddess at some point. tbh I love this trope.. I know it's too extra but I hope it's true lol).

Other options

If not Ghilan'nain's then I believe the other most likely options are the following:

Mythal's (complex version), The All-Mother, the patron of motherhood and justice (the flip side of vengeance):

and Falon'Din's, the god of death and fortune who guides the dead to the Beyond:

And the both of them is because even if they have a cheek part that Davrin's doesn't have, it's similar enough to his in both the "horns" aspect and the chin. At least enough, I suppose... I still think it's way more likely that it's Ghilan'nain, though. For the rest I can't seem to find enough similarities to even suggest them... but here is all of them, in case you want to check:

link!

Bellara - Dirthamen

Dirthamen is the elven god of secrets and knowledge.

Comparison to DAO's, this is the most likely to be Dirthamen's vallaslin, in my opinion. This image belongs to codexapocryphal, who made this post. After looking at all the vallaslin, I agree with them that this is the one that's most likely to be Dirthamen's.

I know that for this one, the DAO and the DAI one don't seem that similar to each other, but I believe that there's still similarity, especially in the cheeks. Since this is speculative it might not even be the right comparison, but it's not that relevant either way.

Dirthamen is my best guess for Bellara.

The reasoning:

Theme

The Keeper of Secrets, he is the god that gave the elves the gift of knowledge. Both him and Falon'Din, his "twin brother", would venture into The Fade often to learn secrets. He's also said to have gifted the elves the gifts of loyalty and faith in family.

It's pretty clear that this would make sense for Bellara, since she's a Veil Jumper, the people that explore the ancient ruins of the Arlathan Forest looking for ancient secrets of the elves. And Bellara herself is described in the EA website as "obsessed with discovering the ancient secrets of ancient Elvhenan". This god seems to be a perfect patron for her.

Contrary to the dynamic that Davrin might have with Ghilan'nain, the other god that escaped as we saw in the gameplay reveal was probably Elgar'nan (if you want to know why, you can watch this video by Jackdaw). So if Bellara's vallaslin is Dirthamen's, then she wouldn't have this sort of connection to one of the gods that escaped as Davrin does for having Ghilan'nain vallaslin (although it would have been funny, but I suppose it's better this way, to give each character their own personal struggle facing this. And at the end of the day, both of the gods that escaped are still part of the pantheon she follows, so it'd be significant for her as well regardless of who was released).

Design

Compared to Davrin's, this is a bit harder to figure out, as the two vallaslin look significantly more different. To me the most relevant part when we compare DAI Dirthamen's design to Bellara's are the geometrical shapes, especially the triangles, as this shape (in this form of... dots, almost) is never found in other vallaslin.

And I think that the design in her cheeks is also kind of similar to Dirthamen's in DAI, as they are little triangles/diamonds that go across a longer curve. It could be a reach though... I'm not super confident in this one, but considering the other options, this one seems like the most similar.

Other reasons

Relevant to her overall design and her vallaslin, it seems that the triangle (and geometric shapes, but mostly the triangle) is a relevant motif for her. She's full of them all over her outfit... although as seen in the concept art below, it's not so much a "her" thing as it is a general theme for Veil Jumpers. I also suppose that they took a lot of their style from the elvhenan and their ancient artifacts that they found in the Arlathan Forest.

Other options

The one that in my opinion looks the most like it could be Bellara's, aside from Dirthamen's, is June's, the elven Master of Crafts, a god of crafts and building. I believe this because of the little dots June's has under the eyes, which I think look similar to what Bellara has in her cheeks, and also to those she has right below her eyebrows. The forehead part also looks... kind of similar to hers. One of the biggest differences is that June's DAI vallaslin goes down the neck, and hers doesn't (and doesn't even have anything on the chin, but Dirthamen's DAI one also has something on the chin).

I've also seen some people suggest Sylaise's (the complex version), the goddess of all the domestic arts, or Falon'Din's, the elven god of death and fortune who guides the dead to the Beyond... but to be honest I just don't see enough resemblance, and I don't think thematically it makes as much sense as Dirthamen's does.

And once again I leave the picture of all of DAI's vallaslin in case you want to check:

and the link, again!

And that's all! Sorry if this was too long!

Keep in mind that at the end of the day we know that the vallaslin are different depending of the region, so that's the in-game reason why they're different. That and of course, there can always be slightly changes, especially in this game since it's been 10 years since the last one came out.

Do you agree or have any other take? If you have other theories for this or you spot any mistake, please let me know! Thank you for reading :D

TLDR: It's Ghilan'nain for Davrin and Dirthamen for Bellara, probably? But we're just guessing here.

the DAI vallaslin images from the wiki, they were uploaded by KeladinStorm and  Evamitchelle so shoutout to them!

Edit 1: Confirmation for Bellara

[fimrila]

108 hours.

Finally beat Veilguard after 108 hours with everything maxed out. You can imagine how it ended.

The game got me good. I was surprised multiple times by the plot twists and by the choices I actually made. I had planned to start with the Mourn Watch, but I heard the calling of the Grey Wardens once again so back into the fray (grey?) I went. As a long-time dwarven player, the faction was incredibly satisfying: plenty of reactivity as a Grey Warden and way more reactivity than I expected for the dwarven lineage.

Davrin was also another surprise considering that he wasn't even on my radar. There wasn't that much information out there on his character compared to a few others. Besides I had "been there, done that" with romancing Grey Wardens with none of them being successful. (Alistair left. Blackwall became Thom Rainer so it technically didn't count. =p) I thought Davrin would just be the generic warrior of the group. There wasn't anything mysterious left about the Grey Wardens, right? Right?

Yeah. I was wrong again. I knew I was in trouble when I started laughing at his dry comments during his recruitment quest. We just vibed for the rest of the game. I enjoyed his character growth and I appreciated his kindness towards Harding. Those two were my ride-or-die to the very end.

Needless to say, I went into Act 3 completely blind. I thought I was prepared. I was not. It was just one emotional gut punch after another. Yeah. Outstanding cinematics though! You could really feel the scale of the battle and how high the stakes were. Truly top notch.

DATV started out as a bit of a slog, but went out with a bang. My Aeducan declined the Dark Ritual all the way back in Origins and I always wondered what that meant long-term for the dwarves. Was it the right choice? Was my logic sound? Veilguard provided enough answers with the retroactive closure that I needed and the hopeful future that I wanted.

For the Grey Wardens!

[todisturbtheuniverse]

FIC: A Pretty Lie

Rating: G Pairing: f!Mahariel/Zevran Word Count: 2,454 Summary: Zevran has traveled with the party for a week now, and despite Mahariel's reassurances to Alistair, she hasn't let her guard down. Her trust is put to the test when she sustains a wound that won't heal...and Zevran offers to help. Also on: AO3 Notes: Back on my Dragon Age bullshit: played Veilguard twice, decided the whole series needed a replay, returned to Origins/Zevran hell. I missed this Thedas place.

Hours had passed, and still, the wound stung. That boded ill. The healing poultices that Lyna carried, made by her own hand, had always done the trick before, numbing the pain and closing the wound quickly. She wondered what filth had been on that bandit's blade.

She filled a small bucket from the cold, clear stream near their campsite and carried it to the spot she'd prepared on the bank: a large burlap sack to protect from the cold and damp; her wound kit, all the pockets that she might need unfolded; fresh linen, cut in useful lengths for more bandaging; her weapons, axe and dagger, never far out of reach. She set the bucket down on level ground beside the cloth, and then sat down herself.

Her feet gave a little throb of relief. They never seemed to stop aching, these days. She'd roamed far and wide with her clan, but not at this pace, not without respite. But the Blight was on their heels; there was no time to rest.

Carefully, she peeled up the edge of the bandage, dismayed to find the wound still bleeding. She ladled a bit of water from the bucket and poured it over the gash. With some of the blood washed away, she could see that the wound had widened since that afternoon, the edges ragged.

"And here I thought I would have to carry out my chores in lonely solitude. You, dear Warden, are a sight for sore eyes."

By the Dread Wolf, she hadn't even heard footsteps. She covered her wound with a clean bandage and silently admonished herself. She could not let down her guard, not even for a moment. These were not the forests and wilds of her youth; these were ugly, desolate places, danger waiting around every corner.

Danger like this new stray, Zevran, who sauntered up to the stream lugging a bag and a bucket, as guileless as if he hadn't tried to kill her a mere week ago.

Alistair thought she was mad for taking him in. Sometimes she, too, wondered about her own judgment. Her reasoning had convinced her fellow warden, at least for now: the Crow had sung his secrets very willingly and readily, had sworn an oath, and had proved incapable of overpowering four of them on the road even with all of his hirelings. What chance of success did he have here, alone, if he still intended to kill her?

He could have done it, just now, if he'd kept his mouth shut a little longer. He hadn't, which Lyna told herself counted for something.

Instead of carrying out an assassination, Zevran set down his bag and bucket. The bag clanked a little with the impact. He untied a length of burlap from around his neck—he'd been wearing it like a cape—and spread it on the ground beside hers. She'd assigned him several camp chores, hoping it would at least give her a break from Alistair and Morrigan's constant squabbling over whose turn it was to do the washing. Hoping, too, that it would reveal some character flaw, some impatience or bitterness, that would show her more of who he was—or at least keep him too busy, too tired, to plan her death.

Zevran had not complained. He had taken up the tasks assigned to him with good grace, and she'd been left watching him out of the corner of her eye, wondering if this would finally be the decision that proved her undoing.

"Stay with us long enough," she said finally, "and you will crave lonely solitude."

He chuckled good-naturedly, laying out the battered plates and cups. "Do you speak of the relentless attacks on the road? Or perhaps your companions, bickering over how to properly roast a rabbit?"

"Either," she said. "Both."

He flashed a sidelong smile at her, as if she'd amused him, and she told herself to harden her heart. It was not easy. His warm charm had undoubtedly saved him from many scrapes before, and he was not hard on the eyes: the moonlight gilded his blond hair, cast intriguing light and shadow on his well-muscled shoulders and arms, and even in the relative darkness, his eyes sparkled like the glint of a copper piece polished to full shine.

"It's still bothering you?" he asked, now looking at her arm, where she still held the bandage to the wound.

"It should have started closing by now, with the poultice I used earlier," she told him. "It just won't stop bleeding."

"Might I have a closer look?"

She hesitated, studying his face. He looked back at her, meeting her eyes without flinching. There was no trickery in that gaze that she could see—but what did she know of the world? Until the disaster at Ostagar, until the long, bitter weeks on the road, she had never known how sheltered she'd been.

"Why?" she asked guardedly.

"Your poultices are good." At her raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "I looked them over. They should act quickly on a normal wound. On a poisoned wound, though, they would only stave off the inevitable, not heal."

Was this just an excuse to close the gap between them, to get close enough to strike quickly and without warning? Would the wound make her too slow—just a hair too slow—to scoop up her axe and dagger and defend herself?

Just then, there was a rustle in the bushes, and Assan pranced happily into the open. He carried a bone in his mouth, which he settled down to chew, his back end on Lyna's burlap sack. Instantly, some of her fear eased. She'd seen the mabari tear a man's throat out; if Zevran made one false move, Assan would spring to action.

Besides, Zevran was mostly unarmed. Only a small, utilitarian knife hung at his belt, sheathed. He'd left his daggers back at the campsite.

"Ah, a chaperone," Zevran sighed, and tsked at Assan. "I will only sully your lady's honor with her enthusiastic permission, this I swear."

Assan pointedly ignored him, though he did pull back his lip to show a bit more tooth than was strictly necessary as he gnawed on his bone.

Lyna, too, ignored the comment. She held out her arm to Zevran. "You have experience with poisons, then?"

"Am I a Crow," Zevran said, with a wide grin, "or not?" He shuffled a little closer, just enough to take her left hand gently in his, and peeled away the bandage to inspect the wound.

She tensed; she could not help it. She was still afraid of him, despite his warmth and flirtations, despite his oath. She did not know if she would ever stop being afraid of him.

But he held her hand so delicately, and when he leaned over her arm to inspect her wound, she felt the ghost of his breath on the back of her wrist. She had not felt another's touch very much at all since leaving her clan, and this was…nice. To feel taken care of.

If only she could be certain exactly how he would "take care of" her.

"No clotting," he murmured, frowning; a wrinkle formed between his brows. She hadn't yet seen him look quite so focused, so serious. "You have a fresh bandage?"

She picked up a short length of linen from the pile beside her. He took it from her and pressed it, hard, to the wound. She hissed; the pain sharpened significantly when pressure was applied.

The hand still holding hers squeezed, lightly, as if to comfort her. She didn't know what to make of that.

He looked up at her. "Describe the pain?"

"Sharp," she said. "Worse when water touches it, or with pressure."

"Radiating?" he asked. "Do you feel it when you flex your fingers, or make a fist?"

She did both; his fingers moved with hers, captured against her palm by her own. "No," she said, shaking her head.

"Any headache? Dry eyes?"

"No," she said again. "What would that—"

"Ah, good," he said. "You will live."

"What does that mean?" she asked, trying not to betray her alarm. Assan stopped chewing, lifted his head, and gave a low growl.

"Keep pressure on this," he told her, indicating the wound and bandage, and took his hands away. "Relax," he added, this directed at Assan.

With her free hand, telling herself she could still reach her dagger plenty quickly, she applied the same pressure he had. He, meanwhile, unbuckled a little leather pouch from where it was fastened at his hip. He flipped the metal buckle on the front open and began to carefully rummage through the contents. She heard soft, gentle clinking, like glass bottles brushing one another. Assan watched with curious eyes, but he'd stopped growling.

"There are a few poisons that could produce such an effect," he told her. "The worst of them would have spread by now. That one would be beyond my power to fix." He pulled a tiny vial from the pouch and held it up, squinting; reading the slip of parchment affixed to it, perhaps. "This, though, is just the aftereffect of a very strong acidic coating. Keeps the wound open, the blood from coagulating. Not nice, but rarely a death sentence."

"And that vial is…?"

He lowered it and patted the pouch. "I keep treatments and antidotes handy for all the common poisons, just in case. This one will neutralize the acid, encourage clotting, and allow that excellent poultice of yours to do its work."

"That's clever," she said, impressed.

He had the nerve to wink at her. "I have many talents, I promise you. All at your disposal."

She had to suppress a groan. He laid it on awfully thick, but she was only flesh and blood, after all; she was not immune to that brief, wicked look in his eye, like he was sharing a joke only the two of them knew, like she would laugh at the punchline.

"Lucky me," she said. "I…suppose you should apply it, then. If you can spare some of your supplies."

"We can always find more," he said. The wicked gleam was gone; he eyed her thoughtfully instead. "From the right buyer, for the right price."

"I'm sure we can arrange that."

Lyna glanced at Assan, but he had gone back to his bone, clearly unperturbed by whatever the vials contained. Zevran gestured for her to lift the bandage; she did, this time without hesitation. Quickly, he unstoppered the vial and let three small drops of the thick amber liquid fall to the wound. Instantly, some of the sharp sting eased. She let out a breath of relief.

"You thought it might be poison," he said. There was nothing accusatory in his tone; he merely stated facts. He stoppered the vial again. It was still three-quarters full.

"It crossed my mind," she admitted. "There's writing on the vial, but I don't know Antivan."

She reached for another length of bandage. He brushed her hand aside and picked up the bandage himself; with practiced hands, he spread the healing poultice over the wound—the bleeding had already slowed—and wrapped her arm with just the right amount of pressure.

"That was a risk," Zevran commented. Before she could respond, he showed her the vial. "Coagulante/acido—roughly, a coagulant that also neutralizes acid."

"Ma melava halani," she replied. He cocked his head to one side, frowning a little. "It was a risk," she clarified, "but you helped me. And so, my risk teaches me something, as all risks do."

"Ma melava halani," he repeated, slowly, carefully. "That sounds…very beautiful."

"You don't know any Elven?"

"Very little. Andaran atish'an, ma serannas—that sort of thing."

"Perhaps you can teach me Antivan," she said, and began to pack up her wound kit. "And I can teach you what Elven I know. So much of it is lost, but…" She cleared her throat, letting the grief of missing her clan pass through her. "Andaran atish'an—enter this place in peace—is very formal, used with outsiders, primarily. We would say aneth ara to one another, instead."

He packed his kit of antidotes away and resumed the business of setting out the dishes for washing. "We would say buon giorno—good afternoon—for most of the day. Or ciao, bella, more informally, for both hello and goodbye."

"Ciao, bella," she repeated.

"Well, bello, if you are addressing me," he said, with another of those terrible grins. "Bella is for a beautiful woman, like yourself."

"Flatterer," she said, folding her wound kit back up.

"Only if it is untrue," he said mildly, "and it is not."

He got to his feet, picked up his bucket, and went to fill it at the stream. She tucked her wound kit away in her pack and scratched behind Assan's ear; he tilted his massive head into her touch, panting happily. Zevran returned with the bucket, got out the scrubbing brush and soap, and began the thankless task of cleaning the dinner dishes. She hesitated for only a handful of seconds before pulling her own scrubbing brush out of her pack and picking up one of the dishes.

"Many hands make light work," she said, only a little irritably, in response to the look he cast at her. "Or so they say."

"Mmm," he said, smiling. "Flattery will get me far in this camp, I see."

She rolled her eyes. "You know, if you know the ingredients, I could probably help you make some of the antidotes," she said. "I'm not bad at herbalism."

"A woman of many talents," he remarked. "You will have this archdemon defeated next week, I'm sure."

She laughed, because he sounded so warm, so certain, even if it was a pretty lie. She let her guard down, just a little. He taught her more Antivan as they scrubbed the dishes; she gave him pieces of Elven in return, watched the quiet delight on his face when he correctly mimicked her pronunciation. Assan eventually gave up his work on the bone and began to snore.

As with every city elf Lyna had met, she wondered. What was Zevran's story? The whole story? He'd told her, on hands and knees, at her mercy, that the Crows had bought him as a child—another pretty lie, the better to play on her sympathies, creating the possibility of a second chance for his blade to strike true? Or just a callous truth, one that rightly made her heart ache, imagining one of her people bought and shaped into a killer?

She did not think that this was a trick, but only time would tell.

[kaija-rayne-author]

DA 4 Veilguard predictions

Okay so I wanted to get a whole ass post about what I think is likely to happen in DA 4 done before the reveals but I haven’t had the time between work and life.

There are MASSIVE spoilers for every Dragon Age game, book, comic, and most internet theories in this post. Proceed with caution.

Also I swear like the truckers I grew up around. So CW on language.

First and foremost, I’m going to warn you all that I’m a die-hard Solavellan. If you don’t like that? Don’t bother reading this. And for gods’ sake don’t bother arguing with me about it. Depending on my mood, I’ll either first roast your face off and then eat it with bbq sauce or if I’m feeling generous, I’ll just block your ass. You like what you like about games. I’ll like what I like. I don’t shit in your porridge, I ask you to not do it to me. As I’m writing this, I’m 47 years old and I’ve been gaming since I was 9. Which means I’ve been gaming longer than a lot of you have been alive. Stop yucking on people’s yum. There’s far too little joy in this world. Go find your own.

So, this is just a partial post (albeit, in true to me fashion, an incredibly LONG one XD). It will cover stuff I think we might see revealed in things this weekend at either SGF or Xbox whatever (I have no idea why they’d bother with the Xbox thing since they hold such a small share of the gaming market these days but whatever.) We’re seeing something between Friday and Monday. Hopefully, enough to give hope to the masses.

Depending on how much time I have before I have to serve dinner I might add some more of my theories.

It’s a bit silly of me to be so obsessed about this game because my computer definitely won’t be able to handle it, and because I’m a disabled, neurodivergent author with a family to support… well… the likelihood of me being able to buy both a computer able to handle it and the game itself any time in the near future isn’t good. So, I won’t be able to play it. I am going to add my links and a go fund me to the bottom of this post (which has taken me hours to research and write so if you would like to donate to the cause I would be so deeply appreciative. Dragon Age is one of my AuDHD special interests, and it’s killing part of my soul to know I can’t participate when it comes out. I promise I’ll write all sorts of interesting stuff about it!)

But I can’t help myself. Letting my research-oriented, lore-obsessed brain noodle about Dragon Age is one of my very favourite special interests. So, without further ado… here goes!

CLASSES

I think we have a good chance of seeing some of these as playable classes.

Knight-Templar ❌

Lord of Fortune ✅

Antivan Crow ✅

Mortalitasi (Nevarran necromancer) ✅

Grey Warden ✅

Shadow Dragon ✅

Shaper/Carta/Kal-Sharok/Sha-Brytol Dwarf ❌

Veil Jumper ✅

Fen’harel Fanatic (not his usual people, the fanatical ones detailed in Tevinter Nights) ❌

Companions

A lot of these ideas come from the supplementary material that I’ve read at least three times each. I’m obsessed. What can I say?

Qunari: ✅ Tal-Vashoth Sarrebas, maybe Qwydion? ❌

Rivani Lord of Fortune: ✅ ‘Hollix’ maybe? That would be fun, plus they are canonically non-binary! Please please please? With sugar on top? ❌

Tevinter Mage/Magister: ✅ Maevaris Tilani ❌ would be so cool, but I’d be equally as happy to see Neve Gallus. ✅ Honestly, they both have benefits for me. Mae is trans and Neve has a prosthetic leg. Alternatively, I liked Myrion ❌ well enough that he’d be a cool companion too. And he’s canonically bisexual from what I read between the lines.

Grey Warden: ✅ Please let it be Antoine! ❌ (Antoine absolutely has ADHD and I would love to see more of that rep in a AAA game.) Evke ❌ could be fun too.

Templar Knight-Commander: Rana Savras ❌

Spirit Companion: I really hope it’s not Audric. 1. He’s not really a spirit, he’s a higher undead, which is a Zombie by any other term. And all the poor guy wants is to organize his library. I’ll be quite disappointed with the writers if they go this route.

So, we’ve had Faith/Wynn, Justice/Anders, and Compassion/Cole. There are two other widely known benevolent spirits in Dragon Age canon. Valor and Hope. Given what I think is gonna happen in DA4, my money is on a Hope spirit. ❓

Antivan Crow: ✅ Illario Dellamorte. ❌ (I really really hope it’s not Lucanis Dellamorte. 💩 He’s so damned annoying and gods that is NOT how an assassin operates. Here's my professional editorial opinion of why Lucanis is an absolutely terrible character.

Veil Jumper/Dalish/City Elf: ✅ Strife. ❌ Please please please? He’d be so awesome as a companion character. He’s not young! I want an older companion character. (And it would let them get away with the white hair on a darker skinned character without it being racist as fuck.) I just really hope he looks better than he did in the comics. The art style in those was just fucking terrible.

I am hoping that we can somehow romance Lace Harding. ✅ But I just don’t see how she could fit in with the reported likely classes and things I’ve personally considered.

That gives me 8 even though reports say we only get 7. But did you notice in this picture that there are 8? So either we’re gonna get a ‘secret’ companion like Loghain Mac Tir. (Three guesses who that will be and the first two don’t count.) Or they have a surprise for us. Or the art is off.

I could also see Kieren ❌ as a companion. (Morrigan’s son) He’d be just about old enough if we get the time jump reports are saying we will. He was roughly 12 in DAI. + 2 for Trespasser puts him at 14. Ten years minimum between Trespasser and DA4 puts him at 24. So, it’s possible. I could also see Vaea as a companion. But I’m not exactly sure how she would fit with classes.

Potential Advisors

Some of these I’ve got as potential companions as well because I could see them fitting either.

Dorian Pavus for Tevinter Magisters (I think this is very likely given Tevinter Nights.)

Maevaris Tilani (Same as above.)

Charter (I think we’ll see Charter stepping into Leliana’s place as Spymaster given what we saw in Trespasser and Tevinter Nights.)

Myrna/Audric (Mortalitasi)

Ramesh (Grey Wardens)

Genetivi (Scholar) (given what happened in Tevinter Nights I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him again under a new name)

Viago De Riva (Antivan Crows)

Andarateia Cantori (Antivan Crows) I’d love to see Zevran again but considering what he was up to in DAI I think it’s unlikely. Although something did happen in Tevinter Nights that might make it possible.

Lavellan: With how the story in DAI ended and what we saw in the end scene of Trespasser, I think they’ll be important in some way.

Fenris: (Wandering Warrior)

Cameos we might see:

Fenris

Isabela

Arishok Sten

Antaam Rassan

Kieren (Morrigan’s son)

Zevran

Vaea

Sebastian Vael

Viago De Riva

Andarateia Cantori

Lavellan

People I don’t think we’ll see or if we do it won’t be for long.

Cassandra (thank gods)

Morrigan

Leliana (sads)

Most of the cast of DAI and the previous games.

Bosses we’re likely to fight.

Solas. He’ll be a mini-boss and maybe one you can talk out of a fight.

FleMythal

Elgar’nan ✅️

Ghilan'nain ✅️

Andruil. She and Ghilan’nain often go together.

Critters/bad guys we’re likely to see.

Bone creatures from the necropolis.

Changed darkspawn/humans from Ghilan'nain’s labs. ✅️

Tentacley sea creatures from Minrathous and other ‘experimented upon by mages’ monsters.

Werewolves may make a comeback.

Antaam.

Venatori. ✅

Fen’harel Fanatics (these are different from Fen’harel agents).

Whatever or whoever the people across the sea are.

Carta dwarves

Titans

Sha-Brytol dwarves

Antaam Rassan

Antaam

Things I think we’re likely to see.

We’re going to see trans/non-binary rep. ✅ I deeply believe this is happening. I will be so sad if I’m wrong.

Sad as I am to say it. Varric is gonna die. The writing has been on the wall in drippy red marker since they fired his writer. I hate this, personally. I grew up listening to Brian Bloom (Varric’s VA) and he’s just one of my absolute favourites. But I don’t think Varric is gonna make it.

The how? I think, narratively, they’ll do it in a way that hurts Solas a very great deal. In DAI, Varric is one of the few people that Solas listens to. Apologizes to and actually talks to with a sense of respect in his tone that he rarely does with anyone else. Given events in the comic The Missing where Solas saves Varric several times… yeah. ✅️

If I were writing it? It would be an angsty as fuck scene where either something Solas does accidentally kills Varric in a friendly fire isn’t friendly sort of situation or that Solas can’t get there in time to save one of the few people he actually probably considers a friend.

So, the pain of Varric’s death will be what in the writing/editing trade we call a pinch-point for Solas’s character arc. How the player decides what happens will likely be one of those crucial choices matters points that will turn Solas down a darker path or possibly toward a redemption arc.

Flemythal isn’t dead. I’ve talked before about how she is not the happy fluffy bunny version of a mother goddess. Sure, she might be a mother goddess. But she’s the type that reminds us that mother nature is often more red in tooth and claw than nurturing.

And the lady is bent. Bent on revenge. Bent on using people to get her revenge. Just… if she ever was the good and kind person that Solas remembers? She definitely isn’t anymore.

I have a feeling given one of the stories in Tevinter Nights that FleMythal has infected Solas (vs sharing her power in a simple power up to help him save people move) with the dragon soul. Which could have been part of Mythal's soul even before the dragon had it, if some theories are correct. There’s been a lot of imagery and description of a dreadwolf like creature that is half lupine, half dragon. So, something is going on there.

And honestly, I think that’s going to be Solas’s breaking point with mommy dearest. (Please, please don’t let them have been lovers, that will squick me out so fucking bad.)

“Betrayal is always worse.” Is one of Solas’s really heartfelt lines in DAI. If I’m right, and FleMythal somehow manipulated that dragon soul she got from Kieren (talk about fucked up action right there) so that it’s gonna change Solas into a half dragon half wolf demon thing… welp.

I think FleMythal will find that Solas has a bit more backbone than he ever had in the past. He’s not alone now. He knows he’s not alone. He’s got friends. He’s got someone who deeply loves him in a romanced Solavellan playthrough. I don’t think Solas is going to be very happy with his dearest ‘best of them’ Mythal.

Best of them? Yeah. It doesn’t mean she was actually good.

So Mythal isn’t dead. I think she’s likely to be one of if not the BBEG along with whoever that voice was at the end of the teaser. My money is on Troy Baker ❌️for the VA and I’m really curious if I’m right. I’m thinking that’s probably Elgar’nan. God of Vengeance. Perhaps Mythal and Elgar’nan patch up whatever divine argument they’ve been having via celestial couples therapy or something. Who knows.

I think we’re going to see a split path depending on the choices of the player for Solas. Depending on our choices, he could go really dark, or he could have a redemption arc. Patrick Weekes tweeted to me that ‘there’s a possibility of a happy ending for Solavellan’ so I still have hope. I trust Weekes to write a satisfying conclusion to the Solavellan Romance. (I just don’t trust Bioware as far as I can throw them.) Weekes was the lead writer on this game, so I think it’s a good possibility that that’s how it’s going to be structured.

I think the game will very possibly be a multi-act structure like DAI. The first act is possibly going to be like the Hinterlands leading up to Coryphyfish blowing the hell out of Haven. I think the veil coming down is going to either be what starts off the game ✅ (like the explosion of the conclave in DAI) or will be the final ending situation of Act 1. Again. Player choices will likely affect this to some extent.

But y’all? That veil is coming down. ✅ And yes. I’m aware of that silly new name for the game. I don’t like it. (That ‘the’ was a mistake. Veilguard by itself would’ve been much better linguistically.) But if you’ve been following my ramblings about Dragon Age for a while, y’all will know I have issues with their linguistic usage and editing already.

Dumped Drunk and Dalishious did a fantastic piece on her blog about the veil. It’s here if you haven’t read it. Firstly, the veil was never meant to exist in THEDAS in the first place. If you deep dive the lore (and trust me, I really have. A LOT.) It’s obvious that the veil has been the cause of more problems than it has fixed. It’s been slowly killing magic in THEDAS since its creation. It has to come down. It’s also as holey a granny’s doilies anyway. Solas taking it down in a controlled fashion is very likely going to prevent far more deaths than if it keeps just falling apart piecemeal like it’s been doing forever. It’s unfixable and it really really needs to go. ✅

So once that veil drops… I don’t think it’s going to be as horrific as everyone has been bellyaching about forever. Solas’s often misquoted and wildly overblown lines from Trespasser (seriously do y’all even know what the word genocide means? You make me doubt.) are very likely a red herring at best. People are being willingly misled. ✅ I can’t really blame y’all.

Weekes is an absolute Master at playing people’s expectations and assumptions off of their preconceived notions, then throwing a bomb of ‘oops you were all wrong and it was right in front of you the entire time’. They’ve even said they really love to write things like that. I want to write as well as Weekes does when I grow up.

Humans existed before the veil. Why wouldn’t they afterward? Given some of the lore, Qunari also existed before the veil. Why wouldn’t they continue to? Will there be chaos? Yup. ✅ But change is often painful. And if anything needs change it’s the world of THEDAS. (Both for story reasons and for gameplay reasons.)

One of the changes I think we’re likely to see is the implosion of the Chantry. (I am absolutely hoping for this. I’m not a fan of organized religion on a grand scale like that and the Chantry has soooooo damned many skeletons in its closets and atrocities under its belt that I will absolutely celebrate when it burns to the ground.)

Which will happen if it comes out that Solas put up the veil in the first place and took it down too. The Chantry either outright claims or strongly insinuates that the maker put up the veil. It’s the cornerstone of their entire faith. Also, in the story Genetivi Dies in the End in Tevinter Nights, Genetivi is absolutely wrecked by the discovery that everything he’s ever written as a travelling Chantry Scholar has been a lie. The Chantry is going down.

So, there’s gonna be some chaos there. And that’s not going to be Solas’s fault because that veil is coming down anyway.

And can you imagine the absolutely hilarious chaos that’s gonna happen when word leaks that an elven god-mage was the one who is technically the ‘maker’ by Chantry doctrine? With all the horrific racism and sheer awfulness the Chantry has done to elves over the centuries? I’m popping popcorn.

I think we’re gonna see Felassan again. ✅️ Cause that elf isn’t dead. And no, Solas didn’t kill him. Please trust me, I’ve combed through all the lore, I’ve read The Masked Empire where it supposedly happened several times, and there is not a shred of actual proof that Solas was the one who did the deed. It’s a Weekes misdirection again. They've got the nickname Tricksy Weekes for a reason.

The actual facts about the 'murder'.

It was someone Felassan worked for.

Someone he knew.

Someone who he knew wouldn't listen to his reasoning. (Solas has been shown to actually listen to his friends and let them change his mind.)

Someone who could very likely have been female because Felassan likens the murderer to Brialla.

It was someone who could fade-walk or move in the fade.

Mythal can do that.

A Somniari/Dreamer can also fade-walk.

Probably most of the still extant Elvhenan can do it (which there were quite a few of in Mythal’s temple).

And we know from DA2 that at least one modern born Somniari/Dreamer exists in the world.

Point being, there’s no actual ‘Solas killed Felassan’ spelled out anywhere. No, not even in Cole's lines in Trespasser. Those lines only indicate that Solas knows about Felassan’s ‘death’ and that he’s sad about it. Cole talks in riddles and references to modern TV shows all the time. I have no idea why people take him even remotely literally.

I have a few theories about this.

IF Felassan’s spirit actually was killed in the fade (possible) his body wasn’t. His body would’ve been just lying there in the woods breathing like any other Somniari. Possibly made tranquil (which we know can be reversed).

What if Solas lost his original body in putting up the Veil?

What if he had a deal with Felassan or maybe came to Felassan to help him get back to his body after the attack and Felassan decided he was done and wanted to move on?

They're said to be friends. Never said to be employer/employee.

If Solas was awake and in the fade and sensed an attack on Felassan, he'd certainly have gone to help.

What if he gave his body to Solas?

Felassan's 'death' chronologically lines up to when Solas 'woke up'.

Felassan has purple eyes. So does Solas.

Felassan has fade-green magic. So does Solas.

Felassan is incredibly powerful. Stares at Solas.

Felassan knows far more about Fen'harel than even a scholar would.

Felassan knew far more about Eluvians, ancient Elvhenan, and The Forgotten Ones (Imshael is a Forgotten One) than anyone would reasonably expect any elf to know.

Felassan let Imshael see into his head about what was coming in the future. Which Imshael almost got off on. Imshael loves destruction and chaos.

I can make a list as long as my arm on similarities there. So, either Solas didn’t kill Felassan and the old? Felassan will be in the game once the veil falls, or it will be revealed that Solas has actually been wearing a (voluntary because a soul cannot take a body involuntarily) Felassan suit the entire time.

Probably blew some minds there, huh?

So given that Weekes has said that if Felassan was a popular enough character they would consider bringing him back… I think it’s likely we’ll see something to do with him again.

Also? The sheer hilarity factor of elves who do not want magic (Fenris anyone?) getting magic returned to them is going to be sweet.

I think we’ll see blood magic as a much bigger mechanic than in previous games. (And I hope they did some work on it to make it make more sense this time.) The game is going to have a lot of Tevinter content. Blood magic is a big deal there. Ergo… it’s likely.

Given some of the things that happened in Tevinter Nights, which honestly really feels like a teaser book to DA4 (I really hate the Veilguard name) I think it’s likely that we’ll see the Templars again. They’ve been in every game and book so far. I doubt they’d get rid of the useless bastards in this one.

Given some of the things in Tevinter Nights, I think it’s possible we’ll see just as many puzzles as we did in DAI, if not more. I’m hoping for more. I do love puzzles in these kinds of games.

I believe it’s highly possible that whoever drank from the Well is going to be completely fucked. Especially, if they follow a ‘kill Solas’ route. Remember who the well binds you to in Trespasser? Bingo.

I think it’s very likely that someone close to the main character is going to be a dual agent of Fen’harel. And it will not be someone we expect. We’re all gonna be side eyeing the mages after the last three games. But what if it’s a warrior or rogue who hides their magic? There was at least one character that completely hid their magic in Tevinter Nights.

We’re going to see more of the Evanuris and The Nameless/Forgotten ones. I base that on Imshael being in DAI and in Masked Empire and some of the dialogue between Felassan and Imshael.

Titans. We’re going to see the titans waking up and being royally pissed off. This is going to cause so much chaos for the dwarves. Who will also regain magic and a kinda creepy hive-mind thing, too. Again. That’s not going to be Solas’s fault.

We’ll have at least one Gala event. Very possibly in Minrathous or Vyrantium. Hopefully with better clothing.

Finally, for things I think likely… The Grand Necropolis in Nevarra is gonna burn. People seem to forget that Solas doesn’t just fight for the freedom of the Elves. He fights for the freedom of spirits too.

In case you haven’t read it… the Nevarrans imprison spirits in the corpses of their dead using mages called the Mortalitasi. I really don’t think that is going to sit well with Solas. In fact, I know it doesn’t. It’s spelled out in Tevinter Nights.

I think it’s probably going to be a quest line for the main character to go and save the necropolis or let it burn to free the spirits. This, of course, will be one of the choices that matter and likely another pinch point on whether Solas goes dark or gets a redemption arc. It will also deeply affect Nevarran politics and the way the country is run. The Mortalitasi basically rule the monarchs of Nevarra sooooo. It’s gonna cause chaos there too.

We’ll obviously see a lot of chaos with the Qunari. Their culture is splintering already. The Antaam have decided to go off the rails and attack anything and everything. Maybe the Ben-Hassrath will be able to rein that in. Maybe not. I don’t have very many predictions on the Qunari to be honest. They’re at war with Tevinter at the end of Tevinter Nights so that war will figure heavily in the game, most likely. But how that’s going to play out I haven’t a clue.

Some mechanics I think we might see.

Fade-touched weaponry that can stop mages.

Elemental interactions. (IE: Magic lightning x water = lots of zap)

Magically treated arrows. ✅️

More magical bombs and poison effects. (I might be just wishfully dreaming there because one of the things I miss from DAO is the poisons and traps mechanics. They felt like an afterthought in DA2 and DAI. I want to be able to make cool traps and set up ambushes again.) But there was that story with Dorian in Tevinter Nights where several of those things were used, so maybe? It would be cool.

I think it’s likely that we’ll see the Despair Demon from Tevinter Nights. And I’m still so mad that they fired the writer of that story. It’s one of my favourites.

Some things that are very possible? But I’m not sure of and could just be wishful thinking.

I think we might see Abelas again. (Abelas romance? Pretty please? ❌😭) His story does have one of those endings that kills him so it’s possibly just wishful thinking. But they brought Leliana back for DAI, so I don’t see why they couldn’t with Abelas too. And also, I have a voice kink and love his VA Matthew Gravelle.

We might see non-linear storytelling. I kind of hope we do because I love non-linear storytelling. Perhaps one storyline will be Arlathan (through dreams or time travel perhaps?) and the fall of it so we finally get some answers to all of this lore. (Please let us get some answers!)

We may see some problems from a rather irrational faction of people who say they’re working for Solas but are using methods he would never approve of. They may be sort of like the Venatori in the last game. Though I do think it’s likely we might have to fight a few more of the Venatori too. ✅ They’re still out there having really messed up rituals and stuff to destroy things.

I think it’s possible given a few clues in the lore and in Tevinter Nights that we’re either going to see not just a double blight (regular darkspawn and red lyrium darkspawn) but a triple blight with the green/yellow lyrium found in Ghilan'nain’s labs. Remember that Ramesh only destroyed one of them. There are eleven more. I think that’s going to very possibly be a big part of this game.

Settings/Levels/Areas I think likely.

So, we already know that the game will be taking place in the north of THEDAS. That’s a no brainer after the map reveal in the teaser.

But where exactly will they take us?

In Tevinter, I think it’s very possible we’ll see Minrathous ✅ and Vyrantium. We may see the Black Divine’s/Archon’s palace.

We’ll see Arlathan Forest. ✅ That I’m almost certain of. We’ll probably also see ancient Arlathan somehow. (Dreams or barely used time-travel mechanic from DAI?)

We’re going to be spending a lot of time in the deep roads and even farther below the deep roads. And dear developers please let me have some answers to all this lore.

We may spend some time inside a Titan again.

Pre-veil drop, we may spend some time in the fade. I actually hope that with the veil dropping we get to rescue whoever got left behind in DAI. That would make my heart so happy.

We’re likely to see the crossroads at least a little bit.

Antiva! Gods I’m looking forward to seeing Antiva.

Anderfels/Weisshaupt. We have no idea at the end of DAI or Tevinter Nights or Last Flight what the hell is going on up there, so I think we’ll have to find out in the game. Also… more chaos that is most definitely not Solas’s fault.

Rivain?

I think we’ll see the Golden City. And the Black City. Which is likely the same place.

And I don’t think it’s up in the sky. I think it’s deep underground below the deep roads.

Ships! I think we’re going to see some more ships. That’s based on a story in Tevinter nights and some of the splash art. But gods I really want more ships. Especially in a place like Minrathous or Antiva for fuck’s sake!

I think we might see some underwater levels for various reasons. And I hope we do.

These next things are honestly my hopes and dreams that would make me so happy, but I have little to back them up with as far as lore or books/comics and supplementary materials.

Polyamory options. PLEASE give me polyam romance options. BG3 did it. It’s 2024 and only 30% of dating people are monogamous. Get with the times! ❌️

I want CC body sliders so bad. ✅ Give me the ability to make a fat player character please! Not just because a lot of gamers tend to be on the heavier side but honestly? Because a fat adventurer is going to be able to go farther than any skinny twig. Real strong men/women/enbies do not look like gym bunnies and models. They have a good layer of fat over that muscle for stability. Guess what fat is? It’s energy storage. A fat adventurer is going to be able to survive longer than a twig. I could go on… but come on Bioware. Be brave. Let me have a fat adventurer. ✅️

Decent. Fucking. Hair. ✅ Please let the CC have decent hair options. LONG hair options! Let me have my long haired elfy prince dude!

Isabela cameo. She’s one of my favourite DA2 characters and some of the early splash art makes me hopeful we’ll see her again. ✅️

I’m hoping for DAO origin style stories for the Main Player Character. But ideally? We’d have something like BG3 where we could play one of a number of origin stories or make our own blank slate character. ❌ Given the gossip going around the gaming community I’m thinking this is unlikely, but damn do I want it.

Useful. Mounts. Please let us have actually useful mounts. And GRIFFONS. ✅ Give me flying mounts you cowards!

Prosthetic using characters. ✅ Bioware has the worst track record when it comes to ableism, but gods please. They’ve got it set up perfectly with Inky losing their arm. There’s a prosthetic leg user in Tevinter Nights. PLEASE LET ME HAVE PROSTHETIC USING CHARACTERS.

Better Crafting Options. The crafting was okay in DAI. Especially if you mod it in so you can buy the stuff to do so easier (I really hate killing dragons but it’s the best crafting material!). But it also often felt more like an afterthought?

Better. Clothes. Seriously. Give me some razzle dazzle with the clothing. ESPECIALLY since we’re going to Tevinter where how you dress is absolutely important!

I know this is sniffing the genie smoke here, but could we have actually attractive armour options? With BRIGHT colours? Research shows that a lot of historical armour was 1. Gorgeous and well fitting. 2. Brightly painted! Let me have bright colours! (And please not the yellow plaid. Ugh.)

I hope for more gardening options in whatever base we end up using. I loved the gardening options in DAI, but they weren’t big enough for my plant loving heart.

I really want to see Solas in flying Wolfie form. We see him like that in Tevinter Nights. So, I really hope we get to see him like that in game.

Finally… and I know I’m high on my own hopes here… I really hope we get the gifting options back. Completely unattached to approval is fine. I just want to be able to find the perfect gift for my companions like I do in real life with my friends. It brings me so much joy.

Things they’re likely to fuck up.

Sadly, I think there’s some things Bioware is very likely to fuck up. This could just be me being too pessimistic, but they’ve screwed these things up throughout the entire series and to my knowledge they didn’t hire any diversity consultants in the making of DA4 sooooo…

Ableism. Bioware has a terrible record when it comes to ableism. ✅ (the demon design is going to cause visual strain and possibly bad effects for epileptic gamers).

White-washing. The North of THEDAS is like the South of Earth. If they make most of the people there have light skin I will probably boycott the fuck out of Bioware for the rest of my life. ✅️

No fat character ability in CC.

Really fucked up hair options. Seriously Bioware. It’s bad.

And I think they’re going to be in trouble when it comes to the Lords of Fortune. Look. I love the idea of the class and I even love how a lot of them are described in the books. But it’s absolutely glomming onto the stereotype of the Romani, and I don’t think that’s going to go over well at all. It won’t for me with my Romani heritage, and it really shouldn’t for anyone. Cause you know what that stereotypical usage is? It’s Racism. Bioware also doesn’t have the best track record regarding racism either.

As more thoughts come to me I’ll either append stuff to this post or do others (probably the latter.)

And here are my links if you want to toss me a buck or two as a tip. I'm recovering from a pulmonary embolism (do not recommend) and every penny helps because I'm the sole income for my family.

And if you're in Canada like me you can use Interac. Kaija.rayne.author@gmail.com.

As always, thanks for reading my rambles!

[herearedragons]

4, 12, 23, 29, 44 for the oc asks! c:

4. A character you rarely talk about?

shoutout to: Firi of the Red Scarves, a would-be dnd roguelock turned dnd npc turned. Tav maybe. when I get BG3

his thing is that he's a high elf born with a disability that makes casting magic painful, and his parents, who were dead set on having a wizard son, tried to Fix Him by any means possible, and when he realized they were going to do Unethical Science on him he ran away from home. on his way out he grabbed an expensive-looking necklace off his father's desk, planning to sell it, but that necklace turned out to contain an imprisoned friend that was supposed to serve the wearer of the necklace for a hundred years. Firi went "sweet", put the necklace on, became a warlock and used his newfound powers (which, being borrowed magic and not his own, aren't painful for him to use) to get out of the country and start a new life Elsewhere under a new name. the problem is, the fiend also swore to kill the wearer of the necklace as soon as the hundred years are up, buuuuuuuut maybe Firi can endear himself to it enough that it won't do that! we'll see! <- he is: coping in the best way he can

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot

@curiouslavellan's Aurelia and Helaine are both on the brain quite a lot. and yes it's because they're in AU worldstates with my own characters but also just. I Care Them. they both have this. I don't know. sincerity?? and determination?? to them?? even as the world throws progressively horrible stuff at them?? like you just want to see them succeed and also get a warm meal and a good night's sleep (and some therapy/Reflection Time) because really it's not their fault the world is going crazy around them and they're trying their best

(also I've put Aurelia in my Sims Medieval as the physician and it's been really funny)

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

WELL. Pyrrha Thorne (who I'm still rotating) started out as a Dalish character, and then I came up with a different backstory that I also like and. might fit Veilguard's entire deal better, tbh. but we'll see if I go back on it because her having a Dalish background does also have its own crunch (but also I'm really attached to her very non-Dalish name, SO. and we have one Dalish Grey Warden on the team already)

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

....see many of them would go investigate, but not telling anyone... I'm going to say Adina (she does what she wants), Kyana (none of your concern.), Secret (it's going to be FINE, guys), Pyrrha (why?? would anyone need to know she's going there?? she's just checking it out real quick) and Inquisition-era Neilar (honestly he probably SHOULD have said something but. he just didn't feel like it)

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

Every time I make a character I try to center them around a Concept or Idea that's appealing to me personally, and as a result of this they all have struggles/conflicts that are REALLY fun for me to observe and to play with. Each of them has at least one ThingTM that I'll get emotional about if I think about it for too long, and that's what keeps me invested.

...also the ships. I think I've been doing a good job with the ships

[defira85]

Thedas Tuesday

Yes I'm going to keep doing these. Do I have enough characters to make it through to the launch? Not quite. I'll elaborate on some of them in more detail closer to the date

Micaela "Hawke" Gottschalk

Presenting Micaela "Hawke" Gottschalk, cousin to the Champion of Kirkwall Josefina Hawke. Bubbly blood mage and junior member of the Veiled Brotherhood. I have a fairly extensive background plotted out for my Hawke that included giving Malcolm a family and explaining why he was familiar with the Grey Wardens and knew ancient blood magic rituals, which created House Gottschalk of Nevarra, a powerful noble house dedicated to being demon hunters. The Veiled Brotherhood was the name of the organisation they founded at around the time of the First Blight, and Jo made the decision to come out of hiding during Inquisition and align the Brotherhood with the Inquisition and share their immense libraries and knowledge regarding strengthening the Veil and fighting demons

Micaela looks a lot like my Bethany Hawke (and Mallorie Hawke owned by @apocalyptichero who is ALSO a Hawke cousin), and she was so mad that nobody thought she was old enough to go off and help with the Inquisition when that disaster happened. In the interim, she moved from the ancient family estate on the border with Tevinter to Nevarra City to study, and found that necromancy was a fine match for her given her family's history with blood magic. She joined the Mourn Watch, as her talents with the Veil were quite well suited to helping maintain the Grand Necropolis, and has spent the better part of the last seven years serving in Nevarra City

She's been a canon character of mine for a long time - she was mentioned in passing in one of Jo's fics, and I really wanted to bring my Veiled Brotherhood headcanon faction in to work with the Veilguard. She'd be in her late 20s at the time Veilguard is set, so it worked out perfectly!

[3gremlins]

ahhhh i finished it last saturday night (11/9) (this will post from the q so after other q'd things)! it was really enjoyable tbh, i really liked it. it was good (if we don't get another da game, i am fairly satisfied) not perfect but few things are. def stick with it if you're not sure, there's a LOT at the end

spoilers for the end of veilguard- initial notes after the cut, not particularly organized

not me figuring out the varric reveal like 5 minutes before it was actually revealed tho XD tbh i was expecting him to die from the trailers and then he didn't and i was like "oh perhaps they're doing something else with him?" so they got me with the bait and switch and i was properly horrified. good job, you got me bioware. (as an aside, i still don't think varric was a strong enough choice as solas' friend for the intro section, like you never get the impression they are friends in dai at all. varric was stronger friends with anders than he was with solas, despite weird dai retcon about it. I wish they'd centered the narrative around someone else there- cole would have been a good choice? or cole and varric even since that's the most interesting interaction varric has with solas in dai) i'll def have to watch the cutscenes with him in subsequent pts. I kinda wish they'd done a follow up with him somewhere, maybe like the endings in that one fade book you find in trespasser (like at that fade bar with alistair/the warden/hawke/etc, would have been nice). got some solavellan conclusions, more than i expected and it was pretty good all things considered (i would have loved more, but also this was much more than we've gotten from other cameos of previous protagonists).

(is this the most awkward screenshot ever? possibly XD look she loves him so much, she'll even kiss his blight-y mouth and go live with him in the fade) i do wish they'd figured out a way to keep cole in (esp since spirit cole has that sad line about needing to help solas at the end of trespasser) somewhere. it was still pretty good honestly, i cried (this whole game made me cry at various points tho). I do think it could have resolved with them both living outside the fade and just his life being tied to it but i also get them wanting to literally tie up loose ends with this particular narrative.

it feels very mass effect 2ish (esp the end game section), i think most people will like it but i did find the end game section kinda stressful (where you have to pick the right person for things). Also for a dragon age game, usually by the end you have your team so having to break up the team so they live is not necessarily what i want in a DA game (i can appreciate it narratively while disliking it in practice lol) The format is also very mass effect-y in how it doles out companion stuff (esp romance stuff)- it's paced around the plot which is for the most part a good thing (but it also made it hard to tell where you were with things). I definitely like how they utilized the factions better than DAI or DAO tho- even tho only their rank mattered, having the characters in cut scenes and as npcs you can chat with at the end was really nice. I don't know if it's just lucanis' romance or all of them, but i kept thinking i'd missed something b/c of how long they make you wait for private time alone with your partner (the parts we get are really good, don't get me wrong, it just made me wait FOREVER to smooch him or get more than burning looks lol). 100% worth it tho. will romance many more times probably

(aside: getting to have a rook who's got a body like mine and a flat chest and have another character look at them desirously was just gender euphoria really. like okay actually their chest is nicer than mine -i have to do more pushups- but STILL. THANK YOU BIOWARE FOR INCLUDING NON BINARY PEOPLE SO MUCH IN THIS NARRATIVE and integrating us so deeply in all the bits, not just pronouns and basic shit) Like it wasn't even before the first "final" mission but before teh for realskies final mission ish (and i got more dialogue towards the end too). Real Return of the King BUT WAIT there's more vibes with the end (past the point of no return warning). I wish there was a little bit more romance partner time in act 2 even if it was just vibing? I did get a lot of good companion banter about it which i love (i live for banter and the banter in this was so good) i think my biggest note is i didn't feel the music helped it that much? idk i wish they'd just gone with one of their previous composers so it felt more dragon age-y (the zimmer score felt a little generic except when it did reprises of previous dragon age themes). Sometimes it felt too bombastic and sometimes there was not enough, idk, it just didn't have quite the same feel. i did like that they reused the bard music from DAI in the cities, made me smile hearing the sera song esp. i also wish the approval/tone system was a little more like dragon age 2 where you got unique dialogue choices based on which you chose more. Also sometimes the "sassy" answer wasn't that sassy or felt mean, there felt like a little bit of a disconnect between what i would have expected from the choice and what was said. The approval system was a bit weird too - like there were no approvals early on and then suddenly people reacted to things (but it didn't seem to impact their bonds). It felt like that could have used more tweaking or been more obvious anyway. It also felt like it required your character to code switch when talking to different companions since some of them responded to the different tones differently- which felt really weird and a little clunky. I def wished for more of the DA2 style where your companions just accept that you are a fun or kind or straightforward and you can rp that for the whole game.

i really liked the art direction (tho i did sort of miss the persistent splatter gore) and loved all the companions! the story was overall pretty good tho it suffered from a few pacing issues early on (you could sort of tell it had been reworked a little bit and bits were still a bit weird- but tbh all the games suffer from this a bit).

the combat was fun! i wish the targeting was a little better (as i've mentioned) and toward the end of the game, i got some stuttering when a lot of things were hitting rook at once (so it wouldn't register my dodges correctly). I played as rogue rook and it was super fun, glad i went with my actual fave class on my first pt (i always think i should be a mage and then want to be a rogue so im glad i can finally be like no no, i love knives and arrows!) The optional bosses were the most fun/challenging. Finished the game with the poison squad ofc but most of the companions felt reasonably balanced when I had to use certain parties (i'd say the warriors felt the weakest in their skills, have to see how player warrior feels, rogue rook was awesome). i loved that you could refund your skill tree at any point for no cost and also that it explained the bits of the tree (bursty, control, etc) so you could work out your own build for it. I wish the super special rune you get for beating the optional questline wasn't presented as your last ditch effort thing- i got confused by this dialogue and was a little afraid to use it at first (i thought i'd have to use it at a particular time in a fight, but nah it was just a really good rune with a normal cd) Obviously there's still more questions (the "secret" post credits scene) and i kinda wanted a post credit party scene? Maybe if we're lucky we'll get one like we did for bg3 i'm pretty satisfied, already started some more rooks and ready to make some fan art! [im also pretty sure my first pt had the most bugs since i started it on release date and didn't get the starter quest achievements until my 2nd rook, so we'll see how it plays with war rook and mage rook)

[inquisimer]

WIP Whenever

I was tagged by a handful of people in WIP games recently, but fell behind on accident and then it became an insurmountable thing to tackle, you know how it goes. So! Starting fresh with a little WIP whenever, from my Zevran/Tabris help Lucanis fake his death pre-Veilguard WIP >:]

tagging forward for whenever! @shivunin | @greypetrel | @dreadfutures | @the-rebel-archivist | and @skinwalkingxana

-

He could still hear the whistling of her dagger as she flipped it between her hands, waiting for…what? If she’d been told to kill him with flair, or humiliation, she’d just had the perfect opportunity and done nothing.

Well she did say…

“If not to kill me, then what?”

“Oh, I’m just keeping you occupied,” she said casually. “He needed a few minutes of your attention divided.”

“He?”

“That would be me.” Lucanis whipped around as someone new spoke, concerning but also not for the familiar Antivan accent that wrapped around his ears. A black-cloaked elf that could only be Zevran Arainai pulled the cord of the curtains and light flooded back into the room. “Shall we put our blades away and have a civilized conversation? I believe we were invited.”

“You were.” Lucanis pointed to the other elf with his chin. “I have no idea who she is.”

The dagger vanished from the elf’s hands and she hooked a thumb in her belt, holding her cloak back from the badge pinned there. Lucanis sheathed his sword.

“Of course,” he murmured. “Warden-Commander Tabris.”

Ariya let her cloak fall back over the badge. “I don’t really use that title anymore.”

“It is mighty useful in tense situations, however,” Zevran said cheerfully. He swept out a chair and gestured for Lucanis to sit. Grumbling, he retrieved his now lukewarm coffee and joined the elves at the table.

“Took you long enough to get here.”

Now that he wasn’t actively targeting them, Lucanis got a better look at the former Crow and the legend he called a lover. Both were strapped with weapons, as he would have expected. There were the obvious: the catch of her cloak on the hilt of her sword, his daggers strapped flashily on his belt. And there were the more subtle: a hilt all but hidden at the lip of her boots, stiletto blades tucked into her plait, throwing daggers nearly invisible at his wrists.

They’d come prepared. Or they just always traveled with a small arsenal. He would, if he was doing what they had been doing.

Their faces were lined with age and the kind of stress that only sat on those charged with holding the world together. But there was laughter written there too, and love. When they moved, they adjusted to each other naturally, automatically, covering each other’s blind spots without a second thought. Not just covering, Lucanis noted, gaze lingering between the elves. Tabris was actually sitting in Zevran’s blind spot, and he seemed even more relaxed for it.

Blind trust. Lucanis had never given it to anyone. Knowing the Crows, and House Arainai, he could only imagine what it must have cost this woman to earn it. Unwavering loyalty, at least. And a great deal of blood—others, and hers, most likely.

“Ran into a bit of a scuffle at the border,” Zevran said, smiling until Tabris coughed pointedly. “Yes, yes. If you need to call any covert meetings in the future, do try to avoid Rivain, if you would. But enough of that,” the elf clapped his hands together and both their gaze’s sharpened on Lucanis. “I believe we are here to speak of information. And skills. So what does the great Lucanis Dellamorte want from us?”

“And what does he want in return?” Ariya muttered under her breath.

Lucanis sipped his coffee, swirling it with his tongue before swallowing. There would be no going back, once he spoke. Of course, that was rather the point, wasn’t it?

“I’m going to fake my death,” he said. Only the second time he’d spoken it out loud, and it fell from his lips with finality. “I want you to help me do it.”

[melonyfelonyfellonme]

Bigish Veilguard spoilers under the cut

Maybe I'm late to this but it's just occurred to me that a double Blight might mean worse nightmares for the Wardens bc if one Blight/archdemon was bad enough...

I can't imagine Ghilly to be kind enough to just let Wardens sleep peacefully, and surely more than one archdemon means stronger Calling (I'd guess), or at least more mental bombardment - and given she's in the immediate vicinity of Grey Warden HQ, it's just got to be torture at that point, surely

And if you happen to be a Warden who happens to be a Dreamer, that might make things interesting (😬)

Not to forget what kind of mindfuck that must be for Davrin at least, given he's Dalish - ohh it was the kind goddess who guides the lost and is represented by the gentle halla who was in control of this shit the whole time, and now she's directly trying to fuck you over, with an army of darkspawn (whom you are sworn to defend Thedas against) at her disposal

(Slight sidenote: funny now I'm just like, "Okay yes romancing Davrin has always been on the cards but now I need to protect this warden like my past games' ocs (kinda) protected the last wardens they romanced... and the one templar... bc there's always something they're needing helped with - and it's usually nightmares and I just need them to feel safe ugh")

The Lighthouse better be stocking up on the Horlicks and the Nytol ooft

(Also I'm absolutely not here hurting my own feelings thinking about even the Fereldan Wardens we've met/romanced/played suddenly getting horrific nightmares about more than one archdemon, and a big tall lady with two torsos and tentacles, nope, not doing that at all 🫠

Not thinking about a Dalish HoF (if they're still alive) coming to the realisation about Ghilly and feeling the Calling stronger than ever, also coupled with that betrayal of what they believed - if they even get to find out it's Ghilly, tbf)

This is ridiculously long I'm sorry lol

[thesummerstorms]

Weirdly enough Veilguard (+ meta by mutuals and others) has me thinking about my HOF, Niamh Amell, more than I have in years.

Like I somewhat headcanoned her into Inquisition where as a fellow Mage (former/disfavored by Weisshaupt) Warden Commander she was fucking pissed at Clarel.

But for some reason trying to decide the shape of Arsinoë de Riva 's arc has me thinking through Niamh's in a way I haven't in a long time.

Mainly right now I'm thinking she's still really pissed / guilty about having to decide the date of the Orzamar Throne for one thing.

The Mage Circle was personal, Jowan made Redcliffe somewhat her fault and her responsibility, she had recruited Therasenn Mahariel by the time of meeting Zathrian's clan, so Therasenn took the lead on that. The Anvil of the Void was a very clear morality thing.

But choosing Bhelen over Harrowmont still fucks her up because she is deciding the leadership and cultural trajectory of a people she knows next to nothing about and whom she should have that kind of power over.

Harrowmont respected bounds on the power of the Kingship, Bhelen looked like he was shaping up to be an autocrat who had already killed off opposition. Harrowmont outright saw a significant portion of his people as less than dirt, whereas Bhelen seemed to be putting in better opportunities for them.

It shouldn't have been her decision to make because she wasn't the one who had to live under whatever regime followed. But the Blight.

And whatever the consequences are in Orzamar that we will never get to see because reactivity limits, Niamh has to live with that on her shoulders for the rest of her life and she both accepts her culpability and resents it.

I think Arsinoë's position, where she has to make decisions that people get killed and live with the consequences, is very familiar to her. But she's also a little envious that ultimately Arsinoë's allies have a much stronger self-determination.

The Shadow Dragons will always move through Minrathous to "bring the light" no matter if Rook agrees. Any changes to the Crows will come from Lucanis and Viago and Teia without a non-Crow Rook's input. The Mourn Watch is immutable and there's not even a hint of a decision that Rook could influence. Rook can influence how the First Warden loses his power, but the Order's new trajectory will always be under Evka's command. The Lords of Fortune answer to Isabela's limits regardless if Rook thinks they are too far or not enough. The Veiljumpers will not be dissuaded from their work and there is never an opportunity for Rook to try.

And I think Niamh sees that and remembers holding the Throne of Orzamar in her hand. Even 20 years later, something like envy stirs in her gut.

[tiredassmage]

25: What specialization best represents your Rook?

Thank you so much! I even have cool weapon shots to go with this one, lol!

[50 questions for Rook! (Non-spoiler Edition)]

Minerva I intend to build with the Slayer specialization because... women with epic giant axes, tbh. What more do I need to say? xD But also because she's inspired by a dragon hunter oc I had several years ago, and giant weapons seem appropriate for fighting some of Thedas's most giant beasties! It's also been hella fun so far. She's not far enough along yet to actually be within the specializations yet, but the Weapons area skills around it that lead into this specialization chain have been so much fun already. Thank you Veilguard for giving me a fun time playing Warrior for the first time in this series, lol! I hadn't been entirely married to a damage type to hone in on with her just yet, but the burning weapons on takedown effect with the dragon hunter inspiration? Heavily leaning into the fire theme, I think!

Also, of my 3 started Rooks so far, she's 1 of 2 whose specialization doesn't match their faction, lol, which is a lot of fun, I think. Min is a Grey Warden! And she's the only one I have action photomode shots of so far, lol, which is both because I simply had that much fun with how her build's going and bc I... might've not thought about it for the first 2 because I was busy doing story, lol.

But we'll give them some love, too, because I'm feeling self-indulgent <3 [Slightly more spoilery nature for the boys' pics because they're from cutscenes]

Tyr's my Rogue, and a Duelist. Tbf, I'd already pretty much determined he was going to be m first + main + most likely canon Rook, but the second they dropped dual wielding melee Rogue, there was absolutely no other way he'd ever have been played unless I'd absolutely sucked at the build, which thankfully wasn't the case because I adored it. It was everything I needed and wanted from a gameplay perspective + what I wanted to replicate the fighting style I'd imagined for him.

Right up until they'd released the backstory tidbits, I'd been on the fence between setting him up as a Shadow Dragon or an Antivan Crow, after all, so it just worked out that the Shadows fit his backstory better, but his fighting style is still heavily aligned with what likely influences the image of the Crows. (And as a bonus fun fact, when I'd put him in Inquisition for fun, I think he would've ended up with Josephine, so another little fun dueling moment for him, lol.)

Heavily a necrotic damage + stagger & takedown build. Not just because they have epic, powerful detonations with his beloved Neve, but that was certainly a cherry on top! xD

Which leaves us with Theo, who is ironically the only one who seems to have listened to the memo about the faction-theming with the specializations for all the other listening he hasn't done, according to Viago's complaints. xD Theo's my sword & orb Spellblade, who - as you may guess from that - also nearly ended up as a Rogue and who I might play around with a Rogue build for one day. Outside of DAV, Theo's original training was as a dual-dagger type rogue who started to dabble in learning about magic after one of his early jobs went a little sideways and had him on bedrest for a while. And Theo simply could not take staying completely idle like that for long. Sort of as a happy accident then because purple's kind of his color, it's worked really well that this is a heavily-lighting damage focused build and I think his hotbar is... completely shock & lightning based skills atm. And they are so pretty. As a backup, I've got a little necrotic damage going on with his staff usually.

I'd really just told myself I wasn't allowed to play two duelists back to back. xD Maybe if I go with a Rogue rebuild, I'll give saboteur a try? He gets along well with Bellara and Emmrich because he... well, Viago would probably say he's the type that can't leave well enough alone even when it's going to bite his hand, but at its best, it's curiosity with how to make odd things work. His DAV edition in particular can be quite a bit emotionally... charged, but he's also kind of the epitome of an improviser. The only direction to move is forward, and Theo's adaptable enough to tackle that with a sledgehammer or a lockpick as the situation calls for.

[lorspolairepeluche]

3, 4, 5, 6, 7 for your Rooks, from the 50 Rook Questions! :D

3) What was Rook’s life before their faction?

Rio: Grew up in a coastal city in Rivain, home to one of the few stationary Dalish clans. Some of them still have the urge to travel, though, so those are the ones that become pirates. Rio spent a good chunk of their childhood and young adulthood on the sea. Candy: ...Life before the Crows? Are you fucking joking? Korbl: ...Life before the Watch? You're definitely joking. Irri: The Qun. Pressing down his fascination with magic and the arcane and ancient to avoid the eye of the Ben-Hassrath. Whit: Village life in the Free Marches. Happy, until the Kirkwall Circle fell and then their twin brother's magic manifested not long after. Then, on the run for a few months, until Whit was the only one left. Kyr: A rat on the streets of Minrathous, following her older sister and their friends in the fight to survive and maybe just maybe stick it to the highborn fuckers who try to crush them under a boot heel.

4) Which faction did they join, and why? How long has it been?

Rio: Look, when your parents have already done everything and had every adventure, you jump at the chance for something they haven't done. Especially if it's Isabela taking a shine to you and inviting you to join her crew. It's been ten or so years now, and Rio's still gleefully chasing gold and glory as a Lord of Fortune. (Semi-exile aside.) Candy: Why? Because someone paid, and someone else gave her up. It's been her whole life, or near enough to not matter. Korbl: He was found as an infant in the Necropolis. He's wondered why, of course. Kept him up more than one night at a time, the why of it. But Konstanze was patient and loving and even helped him to search for answers if the not knowing became too much for him. Irri: The Veil Jumpers were the ones that found him, after he deserted his garrison and made for Arlathan. They had the same curiosity, the same hunger for knowledge, that he did. It's been...seven years? Eight? ...Time gets weird when you're this near the Fade. Whit: A Warden saved them from the templars that killed their brother -- by invoking the right of conscription. So far from home, with no one and nothing left to them, it seemed...the best option, right then. Whit's been part of the Wardens for almost half their life now, and they've been a true Warden themself for almost as long. Kyr: Shadow Dragons found her when they were hunting the same Venatori that were hunting her. She'd gotten just a little too bold at punching up. Luckily, that boldness was exactly what the Shadow Dragons needed seven years ago. It's also exactly what they didn't need when she got bold again and fucked up an entire slaver ring on her own. (Okay, Varric helped.)

5) What was life like for Rook before joining the Veilguard?

Rio was, of course, treasure-hunting. Always after the shiny things, that one, Isabela would say fondly. Bastard after her own heart. Candy chafed against the Crows, who expected her loyalty even after -- hell, because of -- the brutal and callous ways they trained her. When Treviso fell to the Antaam, she cherished a small flame of grim glee that the Crows were finally getting some of their shit thrown back at them. Korbl kept his refuge in the graves, the rituals, the routines. His life was usually peaceful -- broken only occasionally by an experiment of Stanze's going brilliantly wrong. Irri chased legends and artifacts in Arlathan, more joyful than he'd ever been in his life -- until the balance started tipping again. Whit was a Warden, part of a small garrison, and researched in Warden history for combating the new, frightening ways the Blight was being used in the south. Kyr ran in the shadows as she always had, but with more purpose now. Still had an incurably rebellious streak, though.

6) What was the reason that brought Rook to Minrathous?

They all had pretty much the same reasons: to save the world, to fuck over Venatori, because Varric asked. But Kyr had an extra reason: to find her sister. So the others have that reason too. (Kyr doesn't find her, not that time. Other things to do. But she goes a bit further afield in Minrathous than Dock Town. Later. When there's time and space for it. As soon as there's time and space for it.)

7) Why does Rook agree to join the Veilguard?

All six of them joined Varric, one by one. Rio was a loan -- an eager one -- from Isabela to her old friend, and conveniently timed to get them away from Rivain and its nobles. Candy took her only chance to break free of the Crows. Korbl was reluctant to leave the Necropolis, but Varric told stories of the outside world that tempted him -- especially the ones about dragonslaying. Irri was ever curious, ever searching for more, and in Arlathan, he was more sensitive than ever to how tenuous the balance of the world was. Whit may be just one Grey Warden, but just one Grey Warden can, after all, save the fucking world, if pressed. And Kyr, after her time in the Shadow Dragons, wanted better for Minrathous -- for the world -- than the fucking Venatori would give it.

fifty questions for rook

[perseus-veil]

my thoughts on the veilguard

i finally finished the game last night and my brain is a mess after a long week of work so none of this is gonna be concise and will take jabs at braindead takes but whatever this is my house <33

gonna do this in pros and cons and under the cut if anyone is remotely interested in reading it!!

pros

the writing/story - i don't have a problem with the writing at all. all three acts were banging, especially act 3 where everything becomes more urgent and fast paced. i felt like i was playing a dragon age game, and that didn't change the entire time. - only having three choices carry over didn't make me upset or angry (unlike like some of y'all), and expecting to be able to carry over every choice you made from inquisition was crazy. how many important choices from dragon age 2 carried over into inquisition? not many. i know what choices i made in the past and how it shaped thedas and that's enough for me, i didn't need to go through it all again just for the sake of getting a random codex page or character mention. - i really enjoyed solas and rook's dynamic, especially when it all comes to a head and he traps them in the fade. manipulating and moulding them into someone similar enough to himself to take his place in the prison of regret only for them to escape by themselves (and with varric's help) because unlike solas, they know how to move forward. insane to me. i'm chewing on live wires.

companions - every companion is wonderful and beautifully written. i love how most of the story is based around them, instead of each of them just having one throwaway companion quest that does jack shit for their development. - in my playthrough, i chose treviso over minrathous, so i ended up with a hardened neve. i love that rook has to work hard to prove that they really care about her and her home, and that earning her trust fully is no small feat. it's so cool that she doesn't simply follow rook blindly, and spends a good chunk of time trying to help back home before returning. - also i really loved how regardless of loyalty and depending on your choices, some of your companions can still die. choosing between harding and davrin took me back to mass effect 1 where you have to save either kaidan or ashley, and inquisition where you have to choose between hawke and a warden, which i thought was so cool. i ended up choosing harding, as she's been there since the beginning. it makes sense to me for her to be the first to fall. very fitting, loved it.

romance - i romanced lucanis for my first playthrough. not having much content didn't bother me, as it made sense story wise. he's been in an underwater prison for a year, tortured and tormented, so naturally he's gonna be slow to trust anyone, and like a hardened neve, you have to work to earn it. and in the end, it's so worth it.

animations/art style - i know i've said it before but the facial animations aren't that bad. even then, i don't really care because mass effect andromeda is one of my all time favourite games and the animations in that are still. not great. veilguard's animations don't have shit on the disaster that was andromeda when it came out lmaoo - bioware have a habit of reinventing the wheel and changing art styles with every dragon age game, but i do really like veilguard's style. it was never gonna look like inquisition, a game that's Ten Years Old, so idk what some of y'all were expecting. i don't care that it looks a lil cartoony, it's nice to look at.

environment/locations - we finally got to fuckigng go to kal sharok. i know it wasn't for long or that much but!! it was enough <33 - every location is visually stunning, i could've spent hours just wandering around aimlessly looking at everything and taking pretty pictures. next time i plan to turn most of the ui off to take it all in. - i also don't get the hate for that lil purple tinge to everything, especially in arlathan forest. it's pretty. what the fuck are you talking about.

combat - i LOVED the combat system in this one. i had to play on pc (which i don't normally do) and i chose the easiest difficulty because i'm mostly here for the story, but the combat was so fun and engaging, and i enjoyed having to actually pay attention to it as opposed to just holding down a button to attack and not needing to worry about much else. - also the combo opportunities with companions was s o cool to play around with. we blowin everyone up to absolute shit babeyy

cons

(i don't actually have many cons so i'm just gonna bang em all out here) - i really hated how they literally nuked the south. i'm not mad about the lack of choices carrying over, but i am a little mad about the fact that every decision i made over three games turned out to be all for nothing. why did they do that. hello. i'm ignoring it <33 - i do really love how they included the option of having a trans or non binary rook, but characters actually saying 'non-binary' in game sounded. strange?? like it just doesn't fit in a fantasy setting because it's a real-life modern thing?? idk this one isn't a big deal i don't mind so much. also my gender is Whatever so don't come at me - while i don't want my companions threatening to kill each other all the time, i do miss having more conflict. there were plenty of opportunities for that, like with bellara and taash's banter regarding artifacts and the lords' 'dalish advisor'. you can't have such a diverse group of people and not have some type of conflict, it just doesn't seem natural otherwise.

anyway that's it i'm not gonna say anything else because i don't want the deranged girlies coming after me <33