#back in arlathan

[rosykims]

im a eurydice = solas truther btw and ill die for my beliefs

be so serious........ and lavellan as orpheus......

[hawkewild]

During my replay of Inquisition I just can't stop thinking of In Hushed Whispers and how it parallels Solas' experience in a way.

For those who don't have quest titles memorized and don't want to google, this is the quest where you go to recruit the mages but get yeeted into the future with Dorian.

This future is (even more) apocalyptic, your companions you brought with you to Redcliffe are incarcerated and corrupted by red lyrium, others are dead or unaccounted for, and Leliana has gone through unspeakable horrors. No One Likes This (TM) and clearly the goal is to get you and Dorian back to the past to fix things so this never happens. And you do! Great.

Now imagine you get yeeted to an apocalyptic future, but people don't KNOW how apocalyptic it is. There's no one alive who remembers the old world, except maybe a handful of people. You ask people, friends, "hey wouldn't you want to go back to the past where things were better?" and the answers you get back are along the lines of "I have no interest in that", "that's a pointless question" or "I want to make the best of things here". Meanwhile "here" is a literal ongoing zombie apocalypse that's nearly tipped over into world annihilation 5 times, and that's the least of things. Cool cool cool.

Now also imagine that the state of this world is also at least partly YOUR fault, not the fault of some crazy cult, and it happened because you thought you were fixing things. I think I'd tear my hair out and eat it.

This is what Solas went through and is still currently going through, and when I think of it this way I'm honestly surprised he's not screaming all day every day. It also really puts a different twist on his comments when you get back to present day and he practically interrogates you about time travel to the point of insulting your intelligence (are you sure, are you really sure that happened? It couldn't have been something else, an illusion?)(honestly insulting your intelligence like this is on brand either way lol). What he would give to be able to go back, but he can't. There's only forward.

I don't agree with his conclusions, but I can definitely understand his horror. Regret of a god, indeed.

[warlordfelwinter]

just thinking about my inquisitor, like you do, and the au that i made up completely to imagine Cool Visuals to skyrim songs on my commute where ancient elves could communicate with dragons and ella learns how to do it also somehow and instead of killing any dragons in the game he befriends them

and imagining some universe where being friends with ella mellows solas a bit and he realizes the modern elves are people worth saving and helping, which is mirrored by ella trending in the opposite direction bc his experiences as inquisitor have only made him angrier and more bitter and they sort of meet in the middle vis a vis goals and dragon age 4 isnt everyone trying to stop fen'harel from destroying the world or whatever, it's everyone trying to calm down a righteously furious ellassan

who now has several dragons

[tortoise-teapot]

should i wait for veilguard lore or should i be the last of a generation of fics with pre-veilguard speculation

[fivehundredsporks]

just like thinknig rn but... do you think we return to the place that solas performs that ritual at some point in veilguard? just looking at an image from the trailer and the background of it looks similar to that ritual location..

like the statues in the back look the same, seemingly in the same arrangement, so do we either return here (say its been built up a bit by the 2 blighted gods) OR its the same location but this time reflected in the fade? (or it could also just be a COMPLETELY different location and these kind of statues and their arrangements were common in Elvhenan)

[felassan]

July 8th Game Informer article on How Romance And Relationships Work In DA:TV - cliff notes:

This game is the team's most romantic yet

Every companion has a Relationship Level related to Rook

Choices you make (about the companion and the world), what you say to them, how you help/don't help them and more all play into it

Every time Relationship Level is levelled up, you unlock a skill point for that companion

Companion skill trees are customizable but not as large as Rook's

Rook's skill tree has passive abilities, combat abilities and more

Each companion has access to 5 abilities. 3 can be taken into combat

"Matt Rhodes hints that companion issues, problems, and personal quests will play into this Relationship Level and how a companion interacts with Rook"

Bellara for example has her own story arc that "story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you're on"

Early on is a linear, story-driven mission in Arlathan Forest where Rook searches for Bellara

Corinne: "relationships are key, not only romance but friendships. We wanted to lean into not just the relationships the characters have with you but the relationships they have with each other. It's a found family, and at the end of the day, they need to trust they all have each other's back"

Some romances get quite spicy, but not all

Each romance has a very different flavor

Some characters are straight to the point. Others are more awkward, having never been in a relationship before

Corinne: "You learn who these characters are in how their romances unfold"

Corinne "likens romantic and platonic relationships to another way to 'level up' your companions. It's not just experience and skill points that determine Rook's standing with companions, but diegetic conversations, too"

As we know the companions are all pan

The companions aren't "just going to vie for your affection – they might take attraction to other companions". "Giving one companion the cold shoulder might nudge them into the warm shoulder of someone else on the team". Companions can form romances with each other

It's unknown if that locks Rook out of romance with them

There isn't much in the way of romance in the very early hours of the game, however early on Rook can flirt with Neve

The 'emotional' response that Rook sometimes has a dialogue choice is "romantically-inclined". Corinne says this is the option to flirt and push platonic relationships into romantic territory, "though Rook's flirtatious efforts aren't always reciprocated"

Other dialogue choices seem friendly, snarky and direct

[source]

[kcwriter-blog]

I've been thinking about how we the players know so little about Solas compared to what the writers and developers know about him and how that affects the way he is written.

I mean we know he is an ancient elf. We know he was powerful enough and skilled enough to create the Veil. We know he and Mythal were friends. He doesn't seem to have liked Andruil and Falon'Din much. Skyhold belonged to him. He removed vallislin. He tried to free slaves. He had kind of an underground railroad thing going. He seems to have had a lot of money secreted away. He painted even back in Arlathan. A lot of statues seem to have been made of him. People in the Vir Dirthara knew he created the Veil but were surprised that he would do something like that. He seems to have always had an affinity for the Fade and spirits. He enjoyed whatever version of the Game nobles in Arlathan played. He was cocky and hot blooded, always spoiling for a fight. He is capable of love and friendship.

I think that's all and it really isn't much. Everything else anyone says about him is pure speculation. It makes meta fun but its easy to get too caught up in our own ideas.

We speculate about him based on things we learn from his personal quests and what we see in Trespasser but we don't know anything for sure. Was he a slave? Was he a spirit called out of the Fade by Mythal and given a body? Did he manifest a body like Cole? Was he just a normal elf born in a small village to the north? Was he a noble and privileged or did he work his way up? Did he join the fight against the Titans? Was he a genius who theorized that the waking world and Fade could be separated? Did he use untried magic because his back was against the wall and he couldn't think of any other way to save the world? Was he a friend of the Evanuris so they trusted him enough to fall into his trap? Was he one of them?

So many questions. The writers have tried to portray him sympathetically. They want us to empathize with him. And I have to ask myself why? He is one of the antagonists. Wouldn't it be easier to portray him as not having any redeeming qualities? And yet, he is basically described as the hero who lived long enough to become the villain.

I know his detractors believe he is a genocidal, racist maniac but that doesn’t track with everything we learn about him as high approval or romanced Inquisitors. It certainly isn’t born out by his statement that he is doing his best to minimize the damage.

He truly believes what he is doing is best for the world and is willing to break it and remake it. What does he know? But more importantly, what do the writers know? Fen' Harel has existed since Origins. Devs have always planned for him to make an appearance. That means the valleslin has always been a mark of slavery even if the Dalish didn't know. The Creators have always been horrible, slave owners even if the Dalish don't remember. Which means Solas has always been the rebel fighting for what he believes is right.

Why do the writers see him not so much as the villain (although Epler uses that word constantly - he is usually the only one though) as they do a somewhat noble person who keeps making mistakes? Why is he portrayed as just a sad man who can't see past his regret and guilt. What was he like? What changed him? What did he know about the Veil before he put it up?

I get that a lot of people don't like the idea of being tied to him in Veilguard but maybe the writers did that so we have no choice but to get to know him - the good and the bad. Maybe we finally get to know Solas the way the writers and developers know him. I'm looking forward to that.

[shewolfofvilnius]

i know I keep hyperfixating on the Solas/Ghilan'nain flashback but there is SO MUCH to unpack there and I want to talk about the VERY FIRST THING we see when we start the FIRST GAME. (DAV spoilers ahead)

The VERY FIRST

This is the very first thing we learn about the entire setting of the game. It's the foundational piece for the Chantry's concept of sin. And as we learned in one of the random Veilguard videos, The Chantry's interpretation is completely fucking wrong.

The Blight not only predates the first Archdemon, it predates the creation of the Veil and the sundering of magic into The Fade. It dates back to late period Elvhenan.

So where did the Canticle of Threnodies originate? Hint: NOT THE CHANTRY.

Slave uprisings? Oral tradition? Hmm, which people relied near-exclusively on oral tradition for centuries? Who did Tevinter primarily enslave? Who has a history of slave uprisings that predates Tevinter itself? Elves. What happened to the Elves of Arlathan after it fell? Enslaved in the founding of modern day Tevinter.

Ancient Tevinter Slaves (hint: Elves) have an ancient oral dirge about a "golden city" being "blackened", and about a singular pissed off narrator telling someone that their every step blackens the city and brings doom upon the world.

A dirge primarily sung during slave uprisings. Whose big thing was a massive slave uprising or uprisiings in Elvhenan and Arlathan?

I posit that Canticle of Threnodies 8:13 is the Chantry's translation/appropriation of Solas telling off the Evanuris once and for all, and was part of his final rebuke to them before trapping them in the Golden/Black City (Arlathan) and sealing the city off and creating the Fade.

The warning survived into Elven oral tradition as they were then enslaved by the humans in the founding of Tevinter. When the Magisters then breached the Black City and found the blight waiting for them (as Corypheus confirms, although I wonder where the Evanuris were hiding), it was retconned to apply to the Magisters when the original sin...was the Evanuris.

(PS: There are literally dozens of these examples of history retcon all throughout Thedas in past games.)

[dalishious]

Catching up with Thedas

We’re getting another time-skip between Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Here’s a summary of things that have happened in the supplementary material leading up to this. Obviously, major spoiler warning for everything discussed here.

If this summary intrigues you, I would definitely suggest checking out the full stories for yourself. They’re all great—especially the comics. The characters in the comics are so good and that’s not something you get to appreciate just in summaries.

Major takeaways:

The Venatori are still active, especially in Tevinter, where a woman named Aelia (who is now imprisoned by the templars) took over after Corypheus was defeated and attempted to raise a powerful demon buried under Minrathous. The demon is still resting there, and the remains of the Venatori are still about. Although, the Antivan Crows have been hired to assassinate Venatori agents, and are picking them off one by one

The Qunari are invading the north again, and the following cities have been taken over: Ventus (Tevinter), Carastes (Tevinter), Neromenian (Tevinter), and Treviso (Antiva). They plan to move further into Rivain. However, the Antaam are on thin ice with the rest of the Qun, having acted against orders in the city of Ventus – suggesting there may be fracturing of leadership. This is further implied through the Ben-Hassrath declaring neutrality on the war with Tevinter. At the same time, the Qunari are also searching elven ruins trying to gather information about the Dread Wolf

There is a group of elves known as the Agents of Fen’Harel infiltrated all over Thedas and stirring up shit, including fanning the flames of war between Tevinter and the Qunari

The red lyrium idol has been everywhere, man… It was taken out of Meredith’s statue by the Carta, somehow wound up Tevinter, possessed by House Qintara, where it was traded it for information to House Danarius, where it was then stolen by Cedric Marquette, who gave it to Tractus Danarius, who brought it to Nevarra hoping Mortalitasi would help unlock it, where it was then taken back to Tevinter, only to somehow end up in Solas’s hands

Speaking of red lyrium, guess who is also still active? The red templars. And they are serving none other than an awakened but still crystalized Meredith Stannard in Kirkwall, who is known as “The Crimson Knight” by her followers

All Grey Wardens have been summoned to Weisshaupt for reasons unknown

The Grey Wardens have uncovered the remains of a dwarven thaig called Hormok, where beneath it they found elven ruins with signs it was a place of worship for Ghilan’nain. In these elven ruins, they find a magic pool that turns creatures into spliced-up monsters with parts of different beings melded together. While the wardens destroy this place, there are still eleven others out there somewhere

The Arlathan Forest has come alive with magic, changing place and time within it

Solas is in possession of an elven artifact called “the crucious stone”, with unknown powers

Dragon Age: Knight Errant (9:44)

Vaea is an elven squire to wandering knight Ser Aaron Hawthorne. She is recruited by Charter to rescue Tessa Forsythia and Marius (from the Magekiller comics) from where they were caught on their mission. They were sent by the Inquisition to infiltrate Starkhaven’s palace and steal a book with research on red lyrium in Sebastian Vael’s possession. Vaea successfully rescues them and then steals the book herself, but not without a fight with Cedric Marquette, an Orlesian scholar who is also after the book on behalf of the lingering Venatori. It’s found out from the book that the Venatori may already be in possession of red lyrium, and Vaea offers to go to Tevinter to investigate. Aaron agrees to join her, aware and supportive of her work for the Inquisition.

Dragon Age: Deception (9:44)

Olivia Pryde is a con artist working in Ventus, Tevinter. The city is under high tension because of an imminent Qunari invasion. She pretends to be a Magister investigating Calix Qintara, the son of a reclusive fellow Magister, until it’s discovered that Calix is also a con artist. They try to outdo one another in a con contest against sister and brother, Francesca and Florian Invidus, but both are revealed as liars. In their fleeing, they run into Ser Aaron Hawthorne, who coaxes them into helping with his and Vaea’s mission. Vaea’s goal is to steal the red lyrium that was taken from Kirkwall supposedly held in the Qintara estate. Also ending up as part of their plan is a deal with two Antivan Crows, (later revealed in Tevinter Nights to be Teia Cantori and Viago De Riva). While the Crows create a distraction—though one that ends up with the death of Florian—Olivia and Calix con their way into getting floor plans of the Qintara estate, which Vaea uses to successfully break in. Unfortunately for everyone, Francesca pushes her way through and demands to speak to Magister Qintara to reveal Calix has been posing as his son, only to find out that Magister Qintara has been dead for years, and his former elven slave Gaius has been posing as him in order to collect valuable information to pass on to the Agents of Fen’Harel. Vaea discovers that the vault that was supposed to contain the red lyrium is empty, having already been sold to House Danarius. At the exact same time, the Qunari attack the city of Ventus, throwing their mission into a very time sensitive window to escape. Olivia sacrifices herself in order for Vaea, Aaron, Calix, and Francesca to flee the city.

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith (9:45)

Outside Carastes, which has been overrun by Qunari, Cedric Marquette flees from a chasing squad of them with a strange sarcophagus-like device in his possession that he is taking to Magister Nenealeus, who trains slaves into perrepatae; mage-killers. (He was the Magister who trained Marius.) Also chasing after Cedric is Vaea and her crew, hoping he will lead them to Castellum Tenebris, home of House Danarius, where they want to recover the red lyrium. Francesca leaves the group, and Vaea decides to chase after her to convince her to stay with them. Francesca is told by a family friend that her father was taken by the mysterious Blue Wraith (AKA Fenris). She decides to pursue Fenris and rescue her father in an attempt to prove her worth to him, with Vaea tagging along. They find Fenris, but it turns out he did not in fact take Francesca’s father, but rather her father is working with Magister Nenealeus. Inside the Nenealeus’s estate, they discover it has been overrun by Qunari, and overhear an enslaved elf tell the Qunari that the Magisters plan on using an elven sarcophagus artifact to infuse an elven perrepatae with lyrium. Fenris flips out and attacks, recognizing that they have restored the means of which he was experimented on. Meanwhile, Aaron and co. track Cedric down to his meeting with Nenealeus, and the Magister, realizing they are being watched, uses the sarcophagus on a human slave. The slave goes crazy and attacks Aaron’s party, before exploding. With Aaron’s party as well as the Qunari in pursuit of Nenealeus, Cedric, and Francesca’s father, they launch several more human explosives to escape, but Francesca “rescues” her father. He is furious at her for this, and attacks, forcing Francesca to kill him. Calix realizes he’s not cut out for such death and destruction, and departs from the group. Fenris joins them, and together Vaea, Aaron, Francesca, Tessa, Marius, and Fenris head for Castellum Tenebris.

Dragon Age: Dark Fortress (9:45)

Tractus Danarius, bastard son of Magister Danarius, welcomes Nenealeus and Cedric to Castellum Tenebris, which sits on the outskirts of Neromenian. Nenealeus reveals his plan to infuse the elven perrepatae, Shirallas, with red lyrium, believing he will be so powerful as to drive out the Qunari and then expand Tevinter’s control of Thedas back to the glory days of the empire. Vaea and Fenris capture and interrogate Tractus while the others act as lookout, and gather the information needed. Fenris wants to kill Tractus, but Vaea convinces him not to, as they need to get out of Neromenian ASAP since the Qunari picked the perfect time to invade. The Qunari find Tractus still tied up and he tells them about the ritual as well, so they prepare to go to Castellum Tenebris too. Vaea manages to sneak into the castle and then lets in the others through a secret passage. At the end of the tunnel they find a chained up high dragon. Vaea and Fenris attempt to flee the dragon while Aaron, Francesca, Tessa and Marius fight off the Venatori, while the Qunari attempt to break in through the front gate. While all this is going on, Nenealeus completes the ritual on Shirallas, infusing him with red lyrium. Fenris makes a deal with the Qunari to join forces against the Venatori. Marius and Vaea are able to take out Nenealeus, and Fenris and Aaron are able to defeat Shirallas, with the help of Cedric who switches sides at the last minute and reveals his weakness. This comes at the cost of Aaron’s life, though. Tractus gets away, and forces Cedric to hand over the red lyrium idol he stole. Solas watches this from an eluvian.

Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights (post-9:44, exact times unknown)

[RELATED POST – Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights Review]

(For more information on Tevinter Nights, I recommend checking out my review linked above.)

Three Trees to Midnight

After the Qunari took over the city of Ventus, they sent the healthy men into work camps on the outskirts of the Arlathan Forest, put to work cutting down trees. Myrion is one such worker, but is secretly a mage. He is chained up to an elf named Strife and immediately calls him a “filthy knife-ear” three times in the same paragraph, insulted to be paired with him. (He continues to do so the entire story, by the way.) They get in trouble for fighting. Strife is revealed to be an undercover Dalish, (though originally from Starkhaven). He was sent to rescue another Dalish elf named Thantiel who uncovered the Qunari invasion plans, though Thantiel was poisoned with an overdose of qamek, irreversibly turning him into a mindless labourer as well. Strife uncovers the plans and he and Myrion escape into the Arlathan Forest, after Myrion uses his magic to help them get away. In the forest they meet up with Irelin, a shapeshifting member of Strife’s clan, who takes off to spread word to other Dalish Clans of the Qunari plans to move into Rivain. The Qunari are also tracking the two escapees, and when the lead Qunari catches up to them, they take him out with the power of teamwork. When the rest of the Qunari catch up, the Huntsmaster reveals himself to actually be Saarbrak of the Ben-Hassrath, sent to investigate the Antaam working against the Qun’s orders in Ventus. Saarbrak kills the lead Qunari and lets the escaped prisoners go. They free themselves from the chains tying them together, and Strife leaves with Irelin, who came back for him.

Down Among the Dead Men

Audric Felhausen, a new member of the Funeral Guard, is recruited by the Mortalitasi’s Mourn Watch, (an elite fraternity among the Mortalitasi that act as guardians of the Grand Necropolis,) to track down and find the pre-maturely possessed corpse of nobleman Penrick Karn in the Grand Necropolis. Karn is after Duke Janus Van Markham, who also died in the mutually-fatal duel Karn perished from. Audric and Mourn Watcher Myrna head into the tombs after Karn. In their exploration, Audric comes to realize that the human Audric was killed at Karn’s funeral, and is actually a spirit possessing Audric’s body. Myrna hoped that taking Audric with her would help settle him into peace. In the end, Audric challenges Karn to a duel, but when Karn breaks the rules of the duel, Myrna rids the body of the spirit of Pride within it. Back in the Mourn Watch headquarters, Audric is offered a position in their library.

The Horror of Hormak

I actually already wrote out a long summary of this story here: [LINK]

Callback

(I’ll be honest: I only skimmed this one. It’s boring as fuck and I told myself I’d never read it again the first time I slogged through it, but here we are… So if I missed something actually important, my apologies. But I doubt it.)

Sutherland and Company, as well as a bunch of other NPCs from Skyhold, return to the Skyhold fortress to investigate why the remaining caretakers have gone silent. They end up fighting a demon of Regret, formed out of the plaster of Solas’s murals. They send the spirit back to the Fade, and leave Skyhold abandoned.

Luck in the Gardens

This story is told in the form of “Hollix” (an alias), the Lord of Fortune protagonist who is a master of disguise, recounting it at a tavern in Dairsmuid. Hollix tells a story about how they were hired by Dorian Pavus and Maevaris Tilani to hunt down a monster that was terrorizing Minrathous, called the Cekorax. The monster was first encountered by the Venatori, who were searching for an old cave under the city. It steals the heads of its victims and makes them part of it. They are able to destroy the Cekorax with the help of Dorian and a little girl named Mizzy.

Hunger

On their way to Weisshaupt, the dwarven woman Evka Ivo from Orzammar and elven man Antoine from Orlais, both Grey Wardens, stop in a small Anderfells village called Eichweill. They come to find out that people are disappearing in the village. The two come to uncover that it is werewolves responsible for the disappearances. The son of a noble named Renke starved in the woods and attracted a hunger demon, turning him into the first werewolf. Evka and Antoine hunt Renke down and fight him, and Antoine ends up getting bitten himself. However, they set a successful trap back at the village and kill Renke, believing Antoine and the others affected are now safe from the curse with its source defeated, and the demon banished.

Murder by Death Mages

Lord Henrik, a Mortalitasi, tips off the Inquisition that there is a plot to assassinate a noble in Nevarra. Sidony (from Dragon Age Inquisition’s multiplayer) is sent by the Inquisition to stop this, as she was raised by Henrik. She goes to meet Antonia, another Mortalitasi mage and friend of Henrik, who invites Sidony to attend a party hosted by a noble named Nicolas Reinhardt, where she will be able to meet with a man named Cyrros. Cyrros is an elf who has everyone in debt to him by knowing the secrets of every noble in the city, and Antonia suggests he will be able to help Sidony discover the assassin. Sidony recruits Cyrros as a partner in her investigation, after he says he believes it’s a Mortalitasi responsible. They find Reinhardt’s dead wife, and Cyrros attacks Sidony. She wakes up and overhears Nicolas Reinhardt reveal that he hired Cyrros to assassinate his political rivals and blame it on the Mortalitasi, but now thinks Cyrros killed his wife, which Cyrros denies. Sidony raises the corpse of Reinhardt’s wife and commands it to attack them both, killing Reinhardt and Cyrros. Sidony believes everything to be over, and goes to Henrik’s funeral, where she meets Antonia again. Antonia spills that she was the one who killed Henrick and Reinhardt’s wife, and traps Sidony in the tomb. Sidony somehow escapes though and goes after Antonia, planning to kill her.

The Streets of Minrathous

Neve Gallus is a private investigator hired by Otho Calla to uncover if Quentin Calla (his nephew) has fallen back in with the remains of the Venatori. Neve follows Quentin and witnesses his fatal stabbing by a figure in a bronze mask. The next day, Neve is told by Knight-Templar Rana Savas that another suspected Venatori was murdered the same night, named Lady Varantus. Neve is invited into the Templar investigation, up until the Varantus family request it closed to avoid bad press. Neve then meets a mysterious man who tells her the murderer, named Aelia, is after a set of clay discs held by Venatori agents, and gives her one of these discs. Aelia ends up attacking Neve for the disc—or rather, the “seal” as she calls it, and leaves Neve for dead. Neve saves herself though, and meets the mysterious man again, who is really a man named Flavian Bataris. Flavian reveals that there is an extremely powerful demon sealed beneath the city of Minrathous, and Corypheus planned on releasing it to destroy the city and build the centre of his new empire over it. The plan fell to the wayside when Corypheus was defeated, up until Aelia took over the remains of the cult, and now plans on summoning the demon herself. Neve informs Knight-Templar Savas of this plan, but storms out in frustration over the Order’s lack of willingness to do anything about it. Neve then heads into the Catacombs where Flavian told her the ritual would be held, and tries to stop it. At first she is unsuccessful on her own, but then three templars, including Savas, show up to back her up. They defeat the Venatori and arrest Aelia.

The Wigmaker Job

In Vyrantium, Ambrose Forfex, a successful wigmaker, is told by Crispin Kavlo and Felicia Erimond that he should cancel his wig show because The Antivan Crows have been assassinating Venatori agents. Ambrose decides to put on the show anyway. Sure enough, Lucanis Dellamorte and his cousin Illario Dellamorte prepare to infiltrate the party. There is a bit of tension between them, because Illario wants to become the next head of the House after their grandmother Caterina steps down, but people talk about how Lucanis should take that position, despite him having no desire to do so. They are interrupted by someone poorly trying to listen in on their conversation, and kill the eavesdropper. In his pocket, they find a letter sighed ‘A’, believing him to be sent by Ambrose. After sneaking into the party in the courtyard, Illario distracts a guard with his charm in order for Lucanis to get the keys to the place. They regroup after Lucanis kills the other guards inside. They find an enslaved elf girl, but Lucanis refuses to kill her, and she is all too happy that they are there to kill Ambrose, so they let her go. In Ambrose’s work room, they uncover the secret to his perfect wigs: He feeds his slaves red lyrium to create red-lyrium infused hair. Lucanis destroys the elven artifact Ambrose keeps in his workshop to prevent the veil from tearing, and while the party is erupted with demons. Illario leads the slaves of the estate that are able to escape to safety and freedom, while Lucanis confronts Ambrose. Ambrose shovels his magic wig hair into his mouth and becomes an abomination, but Lucanis still successfully kills him. The following day, Crispin and Felicia visit Magister Zara Renata and inform her that Ambrose is dead. Crispin says Zara will likely soon be a target herself, to which she responds that she has plans to take down Lucanis.

Genitivi Dies in the End

This story is impossible to make a summary of, because it’s told in the form of Philliam writing down what happened but full of fabrication, making it unclear what is real and what is fake. So nothing really matters. The only known fact is Rasaan, (a Qunari tamassran introduced in the Those Who Speak comics,) is leading a search for elven ruins trying to find information on the Dread Wolf. That’s really all that matters, I promise.

Herold Had the Plan

Dwarf Bharv and elf Elim, two Lords of Fortune, were after an amulet held at the Grand Tourney. Their friend Herold already died, and now they are on the run from Starkhaven guardsmen, along with their hired help, Panzstott. It turns out Panzstott is the real reason they guards are after them, as he stole the precious Celebrant sword, supposed to be given to the winner of the Tourney. He is working for a woman named Lady Lucie, who promises that she will help Panzstott find his sister, who left to become a Grey Warden and has never been heard of since. Lucie believes the Celebrant belongs to her, because her dead husband was the last Champion. A fight between everyone and the guards ensues, where Elim and Bharv are mortally wounded—however, it turns out the amulet has magic healing powers, and saves Bharv’s life. He heads to the pre-arranged meeting spot and gives the amulet to Vaea (from the Knight Errant-onward comics.)

An Old Crow's Old Tricks

After a group of Tevinter soldiers led by Magister Bicklius attack the Dalish clan Oranavra, the remaining clan members reach out to make a contract with the Antivan Crows to kill the soldiers. Lessef, an elderly Crow but still deadly, fulfills the contract, killing the soldiers one by one. In the end, she stands off with Bicklius, and in addition to killing him, steals back a precious halla statue he stole from the clan. Lessef then runs to her getaway boat yelling in Qunlat so that the soldiers she let chase her believe the attack was from the Qunari. Her partner Tainsley sails them away, happy that his uncle’s clan will get their halla statue back.

Eight Little Talons 🖤

All Eight Talons (the leaders of the most powerful Crow branches) are called to a meeting at the Verdant Isle of Lago di Novo by First Talon Caterina Dellamorte, to discuss the impending Qunari invasion of Antiva. Fifth Talon Viago De Riva is the last to arrive, where he meets Seventh Talon Andarateia “Teia” Cantori, (both of whom were first introduced in the Deception comics.) At their first meal together, the group argue while Third Talon Lera Valisti is notably absent. Viago and Teia are sent to investigate where Lera is, and find her dead, with her body displayed mimicking an infamous Crow murder of the past. The finger-pointing starts immediately and Caterina puts Verdant Isle on lockdown, forbidding anyone from leaving. This especially pisses off Sixth Talon Bolivar Nero. The next morning, they find all the servants have been murdered. Eighth Talon Giuli Arainai was also murdered the same night. Both again, in the style of famous Crow events. Caterina orders Viago and Second Talon Dante Balazar confined to their quarters, as they are the number one suspects. Teia ignores the rule about no visitors and breaks into Viago’s room anyway, where the two come up with a plan to coax the truth out of Dante, with a mixture of Teia’s natural silver tongue and a truth poison of Viago’s making. They are able to confirm Dante is not the killer. That evening, Teia and Fourth Talon Emil Kortez find Dante dead, while at the same time, Viago is attacked by a poisonous snake hidden in his clothing. Before he perishes, Teia returns to his room and finds anti-venom among Viago’s many alchemical vials. They figure out the killer is Emil, and upon confronting him, Catrina takes him out with her cane. Before Emil dies, he reveals he was contacted by the Qunari, and made an agreement with them that if he could destroy the Crows, they would invade peacefully and Antivans could keep their way of life, without submitting to the Qun. The remaining Crows then all stab Emil to death. With the killer dealt with, Catrina, Viago and Teia all make a plan, and send written orders to the head of each House, (the heirs, in the case of those now dead.)

Half up Front

Vadis, runaway daughter of a Magister, and Irian Cestes, former elven servant, are thieves for hire working in Minrathous. They are hired by a mysterious elven woman to steal back an artifact known as Dumat's Folly, which is said to be a piece of the Black City, from the Archon’s palace. They discover that the artefact has been stolen by the Qunari, and are able to track the thieves to Kont-aar in Rivain using blood magic. The two travel to Kont-aar and sneak onto a dreadnaught holding a ton of magic objects the Qunari are studying. But the whole thing turns out to be a set-up by the mysterious elf. She reveals several things in her villainous gloating: That she works for the Dread Wolf, that she has possession of the real Dumat’s Folly, and that the “Dumat’s Folly” that Vadis found on the dreadnaught is actually a magic bomb soon to explode. Her goal is to implicate a Tevinter mage in the destruction of Kont-aar. Vadis and Irian overpower the elf, but the elf bites down on a poison pill hidden in her mouth and dies. Vadis blows the dreadnaught out to sea using wind magic, and she and Irian escape on a lifeboat just in time to avoid the giant explosion. Back on shore, they are interrogated by Ben-Hassrath agent Gatt (from Dragon Age Inquisition), who shares that they were tricked into stealing the artifact in the first place by an Agent of Fen’Harel among their ranks. Gatt says that the Ben-Hassrath will remain officially neutral on the invasion. Gatt suggests they go to Kirkwall, but Vadis and Irian decide to go to Val Royeaux for a vacation instead.

The Dread Wolf Take You

Charter (from Dragon Age Inquisition) attends a meeting with some of the best spies across Thedas at a place called the Teahouse in Hunter Fell, Nevarra. At the table is a dwarf from the Carta, an Orlesian bard, a Mortalitasi mage, and a mysterious Executor from across the sea. She says she invited someone from Tevinter and the Ben-Hassrath, but they both declined. First, the dwarf tells a tale about how he and his crew used a special solvent that softens lyrium, allowing them to extract the red lyrium idol from Meredith’s statue in Kirkwall. At the meeting location a man from House Qintara (from the Deception comics) shows up and takes the idol. Also at the meeting were former templars looking for the solvent that softens red lyrium, but they were all killed in their sleep by the Dread Wolf. The Mortalitasi speaks next, about how a man from House Danarius, (that being Tractus from the Dark Fortress comics), brought the idol to her group of mages, asking for help unlocking it. They do so in a ritual, but it draws the attention of the Dread Wolf, who is angered by them using his idol to “vandalize the sea of dreams”. One of the Mortalitasi mages fled with the idol leaving the rest to die, but the speaker managed to escape with her life. Finally the Orlesian bard speaks of how the idol wound up in auction house in Llomerryn, where the Dread Wolf himself took possession of it. By this time though, Charter has come to realize that the Orlesian Bard is actually Solas in disguise, and asks for her life. Solas kills the other attendees, but spares Charter. She tells him he doesn’t have to do this, but Solas insists he does, before leaving.

Dragon Age: Absolution (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Elven rogue Miriam and Orlesian human warrior Roland, a couple of mercenaries, are recruited by Fairbanks (DA:I) to join his group, who are tasked by the remains of the Inquisition to steal a magic artifact known as the Circulum Infinitus from the Summer Palace of Nessum in Tevinter. The group also consists of the dwarf warrior Lacklon, the tal-vashoth mage Qwydion, and lastly human mage Hira, who Miriam has a romantic history with. Miriam and her deceased twin brother Neb were formerly enslaved by the man now studying the Circulum, Rezaren Ammosine. She is reluctant to return to Nessum, but Hira convinces her to help. Their heist does not go as planned however, and Hira is captured while Miriam is gravely wounded, but the others scoop her up and flee. Rezaren uses blood magic to contact Miriam in her dreams and tries to convince her to return to him so they can be like his idea of a family, but she refuses. It’s also revealed through flashbacks that Miriam was forced to kill Neb when Rezaren’s mother put a demon inside him to prevent Rezaren from failing his Harrowing, except Rezaren used blood magic to bind a spirit to his body that he now controls. Rezaren’s hope is to use the Circulum to bring Neb back to life for real. Miriam and the rest of the gang stage a rescue mission for Hira, but when they regroup back at their base, it’s revealed that Hira was planning on betraying them to “The Crimson Knight”. Rezaren chases after them, and manages to begin the blood ritual to try and bring Neb back. Neb’s spirit destroys his body rather than return though, and Miriam is able to kill Rezaren. She then asks Hira to choose their relationship over her quest to destroy the Tevinter Imperium, which Hira refuses, and flees with the Circulum, intending to bring it to none other than an alive once more Meredith Stannard from DA:2. Meredith is leading what remains of the red templars. Miriam and her friends vow to chase after Hira and stop her.

Dragon Age: The Missing (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Varric Tethras and Lace Harding are tasked by Charter to try and track down Solas, all the while stalked by a mysterious figure in Venatori Assassin clothes. Their adventure first takes them to the Deep Roads under Marnas Pell in Tevinter, where they encounter two Grey Wardens, Evka Ivo and Antoine (from the Tevinter Nights story, Hunger). They find an abandoned hideout with an invitation to the home of Lady Crysanthus in Vyrantium, where they investigate next. When they arrive in Vyrantium though, they find it under siege by the Qunari. This doesn’t stop them from breaking into Lady Crysanthus’s estate though, where they meet the Antivan Crows Viago De Riva and Teia Cantori (from the Tevinter Nights story, Eight Little Talons). Viago and Teia were there to kill Lady Crysanthus, but Solas beat them to it by turning her to stone. They discover evidence that Crysanthus was working for the Venatori, who are after an elven artifact called “the crucious stone” located in the Arlathan Forest. Viago and Teia share that the Crows are working against the Venatori, before they all part ways. In the Arlathan Forest, Varric and Harding encounter a group of “Veil Jumpers”, led by Strife (from the Tevinter Nights story, Three Trees to Midnight). The Arlathan Forest has turned into a place of chaotic magic, where space and time mix and mingle in strange ways. The Veil Jumpers help Varric and Harding get to the temple where the crucious stone is said to be located. Within the temple though, they only find a note left by Solas asking them to stop interfering with his plans – Solas now has the stone. Varric and Harding next travel with Minrathous to meet private investigator, Neve Gallus (from the Tevinter Nights story, The Streets of Minrathous). Neve says that Solas has been busy in Minrathous, attacking Venatori, stealing their artifacts, and freeing their elven slaves, who in turn are rising up in his name. Neve shares that there is a group called the Shadow Dragons that helps those who have escaped slavery as a lead about the elven rebels. They find an elf that Solas freed, who shares that there’s a meeting of escaped slaves planned that night at the docks, but Varric and Harding piece together that the Venatori know about the meeting and will attack. They decide to give up chasing Solas in order to help the elves. Varric realizes that there’s no way they will catch Solas at this point, because he knows them too well – so he says they need new help.

Short Stories

Minrathous Shadows (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

A templar named Tarquin plays a card game with a magister, and confronts her on being a Venatori cultist. It’s revealed that Tarquin and the deal are part of a group called “the Viper”?

Ruins of Reality (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Strife and Irelin (from Tevinter Nights) are lost in the Arlathan Forest, as the forest has come alive with magic, changing and shifting to the point where Strife’s map is no longer reliable, nor is the passage of time. Strife carries an ancestral journal from the Morlyn that began rewriting itself. They find copies of themselves—Irelin says either a mirage or an echo—running around. Irelin turns into a bird to snatch a crystal halla figurine off a statue they find, and the spell ends for a time.

The Wake (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Viago de Riva, Illario Dellamorte, and Teia Cantori (from Tevinter Nights) all attend an Antivan Crow funeral, implied to be Lucanis’s from Illario’s drunken story-telling about the two as children and him saying “I was always right behind him, you know? Now there’s nobody for me to follow.”

Won't Know When (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Evka Ivo and Antoine (from Tevinter Nights) fight off a darkspawn horde so a group of miners can escape. They ponder the dangerous nature of being Grey Wardens, before Antoine asks Evka to marry him, and Evka says yes.

As We Fly (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Neri de Acutis and his sister Noa are old Antivan Crows fighting the Qunari occupation of Treviso.

-----

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[lillotte17]

I don't want to jump on someone else's post and Start Something, but like...

Varric and Harding explaining that Solas wants to bring back the world he knew is NOT wrong? It might be simplifying things a lot, but it's still accurate.

The conversation that Solas has with Dorian about Tevinter "destroying" Arlathan is not comparable. It's a different conversation completely. That's about ARLATHAN. That's about the elvhen EMPIRE. Their empire was not the world, even if it was the greatest power in it at the time. He's telling Dorian not to romanticize the Empire, because it was flawed and corrupted and built on the backs of slaves, and if Dorian wants to do right by the people that he thinks his own people destroyed, then he should start by freeing all of their slaves and becoming better than the elvhen empire ever managed to. Of course, Solas has a smaller sense of loss when it comes to talking about the downfall of the empire, he was actively fighting against it!

He's not sorry the empire ended. He's not sorry the evanuris got pulled down and sealed away. Those were his goals the whole time!

The WORLD is a different matter entirely. He DOES miss the world before the Veil. The loss of magic. The trapped and tortured spirits. The aging and enslavement of the elves. The confinement and abuse of mages. (I'm not sure how the Veil ties in with everything that happened to the dwarves and the qunari, but I'm sure it effected them, too)

I agree that a lot of people misinterpret Solas' motivations because he said he wants to "bring back the world of the elves," but that phrasing is SO important. It's the WORLD not the EMPIRE. And that's what Varric said as well- that Solas wants his WORLD back. Which is true! It's easy to conflate one with the other, I agree, but I think Varric deserves a bit more credit. And so does Solas.

[sekaithemystic]

NO BUT the ways neve and harding express their worry are so different like neve really spells her concern out while harding knows neve doesn't want to be coddled so she tries to comfort her by saying maybe they won't be directed back to arlathan and have to fight demons...

i'm obsessed with them unfortunately

[cadaveerie]

Here are the transcriptions of the Backstory for Rook's factions in the Character Creator (with the different pronouns available + surnames):

GREY WARDENS

Surname: Thorne

BACKSTORY

Shield Against the Night

When innocent lives were at stake, Rook led the charge, saving a village from a monstrous nightmare--no matter the cost to herself/himself/themselves.

During a large darkspawn incursion, Rook was ordered to hold the line with other Grey Wardens until reinforcements arrived. Rook argued that by then, villagers under attack would be dead. She/He/They disobeyed orders, leading the squad into the incursion and sealing the tunnel to the Deep Roads. This turned the tide, and the darkspawn were driven off, which saved the villagers. Rook's heroism was popular among the younger Wardens, but others with connections to noble families resented her/his/their independent streak. Rook chose to step away while tempers cooled.

VEIL JUMPERS

Surname: Aldwir

BACKSTORY

Hunter of Secrets

When lives were at stake, Rook defied orders to rescue people from the mystic perils of Arlathan.

On an expedition to ruins in Arlathan Forest, the Veil jumpers found ruins that contained important lost lore and deadly danger. Barely surviving the ruins' ancient magical defenses, Rook's small team recovered and invaluable map leading to a hidden area of the forest. Although the team escaped, other Veil Jumpers found themselves trapped. Rook chose to return to the ruins, saving her/his/their teammates' lives, but losing the map. She/He/They was/were lauded for her/his/their bravery, but the map's loss caused some resentment among Veil Jumper leaders.

SHADOW DRAGONS

Surname: Mercar

BACKSTORY

Breaker of Bonds

Rook risked everything to liberate the enslaved people of Tevinter, even knowing it would anger the ruling elite.

The foundling Rook was adopted into a military family and joined the Shadow Dragons to fight from the shadows for change in Minrathous. While guarding a visiting dignitary who was investigating a slavery ring in the nearby city of Nessus, Rook concluded that the mission would fail without throwing caution to the wind. Alone, she/he/they sneaked the dignitary deep into Venatori-controlled zones and brought him back, along with the rescued slaves. These actions brought Rook to the Venatori's attention, and the Shadow Dragons decided to keep Rook out of sight.

LORDS OF FORTUNE

Surname: Laidir

BACKSTORY

Seeker of Gold and Glory

When a corrupt Rivaini noble double-crossed Rook, Rook escaped a collapsing ruin, turned the tables, and destroyed a dangerous artifact.

A rising Lord of Fortune, skilled at breaking into lost tombs and ruins, Rook killed a corrupt Rivaini noble to prevent an ancient evil from being given to the Venatori. Her/His/Their actions were correct and saved the lives of expedition members, but some Rivaini nobles were resentful. Because the success of the Lords' expeditions relied on Rivaini authorities looking the other way, it seemed wise for Rook to step away while tempers settled.

MOURN WATCH

Surname: Ingellvar

BACKSTORY

Defender of the Dead

When restless spirits threatened the inhabitants of the Grand Necropolis, Rook took the decisive action to protect both the living and the dead.

Discovered by undead inside a Grand Necropolis tomb as an infant, Rook was raised by Mourn Watch necromancers, eventually joining the order. During a "civil war" between undead nobility, known later as the War of the Banners, she/he/they led a daring attack on the rebellion's dueling leaders. It was a success, quelling the war and saving lives. But Rook's destruction of these undead nobles was controversial. Some Mourn Watchers feared Rook had offended the order's aristocratic patrons and encouraged her/him/them to travel for a while.

ANTIVAN CROWS

Surname: de Riva

BACKSTORY

Assassin Extraordinaire

When the invaders of Treviso took people captive, Rook was determined to free the prisoners at any cost.

A talented new Crow recently promoted to full membership, Rook chafed at the cautions of her/his/their commanders, especially with her/his/their city occupied by brutal soldiers known as the Antaam. When Rook saw a patrol herding along captives one night, she/he/they leaped into action. Despite saving lives, however, Rook had unknowingly compromised a larger Crow operation against the Antaam. Rook's superiors were incensed. Sidelined for her/his/their actions, the young assassin searched for new ways to prove herself/himself/themselves.

source :)

[liaragaming]

Has anyone stopped to think about how, like, Lavellan wouldn't be able to forget about Solas even if she wanted to?

"It's been 8 years since Trespasser. She should have moved on by now." Like, how? If she didn't disband the Inquisition and still leads it, then trying to stop Solas is literally her everyday life.

And maybe she left and rejoined her clan. Can you imagine every day looking at faces with vallaslin and remembering how Solas said the evanuris weren't who the Dalish thought they were? Or performing Dalish customs and wondering if any of it actually connects to Ancient Arlathan? And that, god dammit, Solas would know the answer - and she probably wouldn't like it? How about any exclamations of "By the Dread Wolf!"?"

God forbid your Lavellan travels after the events of DAI because we know those Dread Wolf statues are everywhere. (And that they sit outside Dalish clans).

And maybe, like my Lavellan, she decides not to go home. But she still want to research and learn all she can about the past. Everything she could possibly uncover could link back to him. Certainly anything elven. But even Dwarven ruins aren't safe because we know the elves missed with stuff there. Ancient history isn't safe. Even studying modern cultures - like the Avvar who are so friendly with spirits and thinking about how much Solas would fucking love it!

If Lavellan's a mage and has any discussions on spirits or the Fade - of course she's going to be thinking about what Solas knew.

Maybe she joins the Red Jenny's and tries to heal things one person at a time. How can she not think about how much Solas only ever wanted to help people? But that he's also going to tear down the Veil and kill everyone? Is anything she's doing right now even going to matter in a few years? If only she could show him small incremental change that he could be doing right now instead of total destruction.

How can she not think about him all the fucking time? How does this girl keep from going insane?

Remember, there's a scar in the sky from where they closed the breach. She's going to see that every damn day.

Also her arm is gone from when he took it right before disappearing again, so that's also a constant reminder.

Nowhere is safe for this woman.

She should just escape reality and drift off into Fad-

[chevalierlogan]

—The Fall of Arlathan, as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves.

For a first post back on tumblr I figured I could share my two pages for @solamancyzine ! Thank you again for this beautiful project.

[felassan]

John Epler in the BioWare Discord (August 7th, again) -

User: "Since the dialogue wheel is coming back, will our choices set our Rook as diplomatic/humorous/aggressive with varying tone and voice lines similar to Hawke being able to be blue/purple/red?" John: "Not to the same degree - we want to give you the freedom to play your Rook differently depending on who they're talking to (you might be kinder to your companions and brusque with authority figures, for example), but your tone choices will have an impact within a conversation and, sometimes, with specific characters across multiple conversations." --- User: "I have to ask: how muscular can we make the elves?" John: "Reasonably so. You won't be making any massive bodybuilders but like... Timothy Olyphant?" User: "As a follow up what about humans and qunari? Quite muscular a la arnold or big viking type? Or not so much that lvl?" John: "Larger lineages (Qunari, esp) are bigger by default so the upper bounds are going to be bigger, but for modeling and animation we did want to put some limits on it. But your Rook can look pretty reasonably muscled, regardless of lineage choice." --- User: "Are there any time-sensitive quests (in terms of gameplay time, that will fail automatically if not addressed in a timely manner), and if there are please tell me they're at least indicated as such in some way?" John: "There are quests that can go away and technically 'fail' if you don't address them - but, to be VERY clear, this is not an in-game timer, but rather as you progress the game's story forward. That said, we do try to sign post them as much as possible." --- User: "Does Rook ever get the choice to cuss?" John: "Yes. You'll know when you're doing it, and we leave it up to you to make the choice, but sometimes, cursing is exactly what the situation demands."

[character limit text break!]

User: "Does the bioware team read the other channels and if so do they think we're unhinged or endearing?" John: "Little of column A, little of column B. But I mean, I've been online for 27 years, the internet has ruined me as much as anyone." --- User: "all the Rooks we've seen so far are wearing purple, please tell me we dont have to wear purple" John: "Everyone else can wear whatever colour they want but you, specifically, must always wear purple." --- User: "All the games have had unique faction symbols for our protagonist (Warden, Champion of Kirkwall, Inquisition) I assume there will be one for the Veilguard Will the symbol for it get released before the game or is this something that will be revealed in-game/after it’s launched?" John: "Every faction has their own symbol - including the Veilguard themselves! You may have noticed it in some of the art out there." --- John: "As a general comment - one thing I want to be super clear on - even as creative director there are things I can say, and things we're not ready to talk about. I'd rather spend my time answering what I can instead of a dozen 'sorry I can't talk about that yet' - especially since this channel is on slow mode." --- User: "There are blood effects in combat after Rook hits an enemy. And I think a developer shared images of the blood effects on hit after the reveal. Will characters be covered in blood or other environmental effects? Like getting wet from walking in puddles or muddy from running on dirt?" John: "There are environmental effects that persist on characters, depending on the environment you're traversing. They're subtle, but they're there!" --- User: "how many tattoos can we choose from? are there also full bodied ones too?" John: "I don't know the exact number, but there are quite a few. Some are full body as well, though you have control over colours and opacity on a more granular basis."

[character limit text break!]

User: "Of the zones/areas revealed what was the most challenging to design?" John: "Each has its own unique challenges. Arlathan seems simple because - well, it's a forest, right? But what about Arlathan makes it different than places you've been before? How does it fit into the established lore? Minrathous is a different kettle of fish because we've talked about it extensively and in a way that meant it HAD to be grander and more impressive than anything we've built before, which can be a tall order. The team did a fantastic job on all the areas, though." --- User: "which faction has the best fashion, in your opinion?" John: "Crows. Largely because 'black leather and feathers' isn't a look I could pull off in the real world but I am glad my Rook can." --- John: "Alright folks. I've gotta head back to work, but please keep asking questions and I'll answer what I can as soon as I can!"

[source: the official BioWare Discord]

There was also this question and answer:

User: "Can we name our saves like in Origins?" John: "I had to double check because I was about 95% sure on the answer, but also, I've been on this project for its entirety and sometimes I remember features that we had to cut (or never actually built) - yes. You can name your saves to reduce confusion."

but the answer may have now been deleted.

[redinkofshame]

We're getting a release date this Friday, I'm sure of it. Reblog with your DA4 predictions and/or wishlist!

Predictions:

The protagonist "Rook" is short for 'Rookie'.

(Nickname via Varric, obv.)

Enby pronoun options.

We'll be able to tell that Varric was a quest giver back when they were making the game an MMO

Dorian will play as prominent a role as the advisors of DAI.

(Yet no mention of his time travel magic.)

Maevaris will have a small but fun speaking role.

Set in the North. (Tevinter, Nevarra, Rivain, Arlathan forest.)

Solas will be A Boss but not THE Boss. Either an early- or mid-game combat.

Then we join forces to take down the remainder of the Evanuris/archdemons.

The Evanuris have silly hats.

Mythal.

There's going to be a heist quest/quest line. Trust me.

"That's not what your mom said last night."

I'm hoping it's in the Archon's palace, possibly bc of something that was there back when it was Arlathan.

Kaiju battle(s)

Dread Wolf Dragon

Those three twinned mountain things of Ghil's (from TN) as a series of dungeons??

Romanceable dwarf.

(Possibly Lace Harding.)

Romanceable skeleton/other undead.

The Grand Necropolis will be the new 'ugh, the Fade'

We affect who sits on the Navarran throne.

Harley Qun will be basically the only Qunari we talk to other than a few dialogue lines from the bad guys.

Lords of Fortune background!

More emphasis on necromancer background.

Grey Warden background!

(Or just a companion.)

Crow assassin background and/or romanceable companion.

More info on "those across the sea"

Fewer race/gender limitations on romances :(

(I don't actually want this, but I'm predicting it.)

Ending(s) where Solas dies/is killed.

At least one 'happy' ending for the egg.

Customizable Inquisitor

(either a Hawke in DAI type role, or maybe Cori from Witcher 3)

Solavellan catharsis.

"Vhenan..."

Me, crying

Wishlist:

Origins style origins.

Body sliders in CC.

Protagonist has siblings.

The architect.

Cole

Sandal.

Healer

'Hollix' as a companion.

Feynriel

Nipuni returns to us.

Answers.