#codex collection

[chiropteracupola]

c. 1540 CE: a young man from Chalco, and his dragon.

[vigilskeep]

i wonder how affected the mourn watch & emmrich were by the mage rebellion. i guess less than any other southern mages because they have the necropolis to run, which can’t be abandoned and strongly has the good will of the nobility, and also good fucking luck to the templar who tries to get at them in there. but at least politically/socially there must have been something. it’s robably because of how lax and (relatively) welcome it is, but nevarra was a centre for the circle of magi, it’s where the first enchanters used to gather for the college

[zukoandtheoc]

btw i got to chronos's second phase today and then instantly got obliterated

me: *uses all my death defiances on the first phase*

chronos: our family's favorite trick! now watch this

[hoboblaidd]

Untangling my thoughts on the Evanuris

So much of what we know of the evanuris is from Dalish myths. The old tales are allegory that has evolved over millennia, like our own stories of myths and legends. But I do think there's an element of truth buried in each story, because why else would Felassan weave parables of the Dread Wolf to Briala if they were just random stories he knew to be false?

Solas is helpful here. He pointedly comments on Falon'din, Andruil, and Mythal, and we get more from him in the Veilguard clips about Ghilan'nain. There are Veilguard spoilers in here under Ghilan'nain and Elgar’nan specifically, so tread with caution.

The evanuris come in pairs that loosely correspond to demons and spirits. They're also close analogues to Greek mythology. This is another long post that is more my rambling theories than good, concrete facts.

Justice and Vengeance

Elgar'nan, all-father and god of vengeance. His stories are ones of conquest and rage. He was depicted as stern, with narrowed eyes and "an open, snarling mouth." He wielded a fire that burned as hot as he did. He may not immediately look as terrifyingly monstrous as Ghilan'nain, but I think that's deceptive. My money’s on him being the most difficult enemy. I think that gif of true Fen’harel attacking a dragon is him vs Elgar’nan, which is terrifying bc the Wolf is the size of a high dragon and he is absolutely dwarfed by the dragon he’s attacking. Elgar’nan’s symbol may be a dragon, and his vallaslin is stark veins that spread over the elf's entire face, and in the second iteration, quite literally covers half of the slave's face in his own mark.

Mythal, all-mother, protector, and embodiment of justice. She's a tough one, because we have conflicting information from the legends and in our meeting with her. Solas tells us she was the best of the evanuris. That is likely true, but it's an incredibly low bar. She enacted justice with a more levelhead than Elgar'nan and could mediate disputes among the gods, but she also bound her supplicants and stole their individuality to be meshed into the many. Maybe she did repent, to a point, and free her slaves. Her symbol is a dragon, full or as a winged woman, and her vallaslin is a more elegant version of Elgar'nan's, depicting branches or lyrium veins snaking across the slave's face.

Mythal-Flemeth is more vengeance than justice. She connives and manipulates, all with a seething anger underneath. She may love her daughter, to an extent, but her treatment of Morrigan is awful and abusive. I believe her claim that "no soul may be forced on the unwilling," but I don't buy for a second that she's benevolent.

Envy and Ambition

Andruil, goddess of the hunt - or sacrifice. She's a bit harder to separate from her legends, but she is not painted as kind or just. She forged weapons, she hunted beasts and her own people. Her shrine in the Dales had an altar at its heart, which has bad implications if she is a goddess of sacrifice. She lusted for better and more challenging hunts. She descended into the Abyss to hunt Forgotten Ones, and brought "plague to her lands and howled things meant to be forgotten." That certainly sounds like the Blight. That last hunt drove her mad, and Mythal challenged her and stole her knowledge of how to find "the Void." She also has a strange, predatory relationship with Ghilan'nain and Fen'harel. She stalks them not to kill, but to ensnare. That lore piece with her capturing the Dread Wolf is particularly disturbing and I hate/love it. Her messengers are the owl, and her vallaslin is stark lines around twisted antlers or branches.

Ghilan'nain, mother of the halla. Is there any god whose true nature is as obscured by Dalish legend? They paint her as a gentle soul beloved by the beasts she created. She may have been once (you who were the most sensitive of us), but even prior to her ascension, her ambition to create more drove her to the gods. It doesn't seem like she hesitated at all to slaughter her own creatures in her ambition to godhood. That clip of her talking to Solas looks to be pre-ascension, or at least, pre-total apotheosis. Her gruesome laboratory in Horror of Hormack shows her true colors, and we now know she's intricately connected to the Blight. Her appearance is as horrific - it's like she kept adding more and more to herself in her drive to create. Her symbol is a hart, or halla, and her vallaslin is a delicate symbol of antlers.

Fear and Despair

Falon'din, friend of the dead. He's been made out to be a benevolent god who guides people to the afterlife. Solas has a different tale. Falon'din craved adulation above all else, and waged brutal wars to gain more worshippers. "The blood of those who wouldn't bow low filled lakes as wide as oceans." Mythal intervened only when her own people were threatened. The remaining gods fought Falon'din in his own temple and subdued him. This is just theory, but I think the "friend of the dead" might've come from the fact that elves would either bow, and be guided to adore him, or butchered. His symbol is the owl, and his vallaslin looks like blood vessels covering his slave's face.

Dirthamen, keeper of secrets. I'm drawing more on my own theories here, so take it all with a grain of salt. The Dalish say he gave the elves "the gift of knowledge and...loyalty and faith in family." Maybe he was the propaganda arm of the evanuris. That he dealt in secrets reinforces that - he could be analogous to a secret police, stamping out or punishing any perceived resistance. His lost temple is a bathed in despair - despondency, sorrow, torment, misery. His followers butchered and scattered the remains of his high priest and, tormented by the horror they endured, they manifested as despair. His vallaslin is not connected to nature like the others' appear, but jagged lines.

The Dalish legends and academic theories are odd in how they refer to Falon'din and Dirthamen. One is shadow, one is reflection, both of each other. They theorize they were "twin souls" rather than blood kin. It's an interesting question without a whole lot of information to go on, save for the Dalish stories of them always finding each other.

The June and Sylaise Problem

June, god of the craft. We have very little to go on with June, other than that he's a stand in for Hephaestus. The Dalish describe him as inscrutable and clever. He taught elves to make tools, and crafted weapons for Andruil or to hunt her "gifts." He apparently appears the least among the elven pantheon in ruins and legends. An Orlesian scholar theorizes that June's role may have changed over time, eventually settling on craft. What his true personality was like is entirely unknown. I think it's a safe bet to assume that he and Sylaise were not as benevolent as the myths paint them to be. Regardless, his vallaslin is pretty cool. And I'll admit a bias to liking him because of theshirallen's portrayal. That tugged my heart past reason.

Sylaise, the Hearthkeeper. We have just as little real insight on Sylaise. In the legends, she taught the elves herbology and healing. Interestingly, the power she gave them included the ability to channel raw Fade essence into a "Grand Sonallium", a sphere in the air intended as a gift to June. We don't know what a Sonallium is. It's said that thousands of elves had to create it, which reminds me of the story of Elgar'nan using thousands of slaves to build his likeness in the Deep Roads. Idk if there's a connection, but I doubt it's a benevolent one. It's suggested that Sylaise was a rival to the other gods, but so was Falon'din at a time. Her vallaslin looks like snakelike plants. It is also cool.

They’re all monsters, so at this point with June and Sylaise, we’re probably just waiting for confirmation.

[wonderful101gecs]

just remembered that in 2022 I wrote a 7000 word analysis of Goncharov which I wanted to make a high effort shitpost out of but never actually did anything with

[saturno-sol]

Wyrm! Wyrm girl! Unauthorized girl who bites everyone and has issues (but then again what wyrm doesnt)

Quezal is one of my main characters and shes the protagonist of my oc fic Codex Xihuitl! This is her Empress alt

Speedpaint under the readmore!

[arolesbianism]

Every day I mourn the fact that none of my family and friends give a single shit abt oni lore, I don't wanna keep repeating shit I've already said before on here but every now and then I just remember the horrors™ and nearly explode not being able to scream abt it again

[impossible-rat-babies]

I love writing character backgrounds like it’s a leetle historian writing in a book <3

[lecliss]

Controversial opinion I'm sure, but I really don't like the way Yuki Kaji sounds while singing in Kuro's voice. Like I get being in character is the point of a character song, but like. It don't sound good 😶

[doolallymagpie]

are old codexes usually around $20? finding a lot of old t’au codexes on ebay for about that much and it’s very tempting

[theamberarchive]

So I read and finished the Poppy War trilogy by R.F. Kuang and it's just really good. I felt like sometimes some punches were pulled narratively, where I wouldn't expect it, but aside from that, a very enjoyable read

[poba91]

its like the 'how old is wynne actually' debacle all over again

it's very funny that the game and a lot of the fandom acts like emmrich is on deaths door as far as age goes but if you look up 'people in their 50s' the ones that come up are like. matt damon. paul rudd. gwen stefani.

his data mined info lists him at 50 do you know what that means. eminem is older than emmrich volkarin.

[blurrypetals]

The Guild Codex Comic Collection by Annette Marie & Ashley Zanardi - blurrypetals review

originally posted nov. 3, 2024 - ★★★★☆

I finally decided it was time for me to return to the Guild Codex series after 4 years away from it, and I figured there would be no better quick recap than this!

I think the art is pretty good. Although it is a bit stiff in some areas, I really think Zanardi captured my mental images of each character perfectly, even if her renderings weren't always so natural looking.

It was a little funny how it was just a bunch of 1- or 2-page comics, would have liked some that were a bit longer than that, but that doesn't bring the collection down that much. I'll definitely be checking out Zanardi's Webtoon series after this, see if her renderings have gotten a little more fluid.

That being said, this was a great time and definitely reminded me very well what I read of the series 4 years ago to set me up for success in finishing the final Spellbound book and finally moving on to Warped and Unveiled. I can't wait!

[saturno-sol]

Chantilly! One of the main characters in Codex Xihuitl. He meets Quezal when she accidentally lights the Nightmare Lantern, bringing him and the Troupe to the Sarjo Desert. However unfortunate circumstances lead to a rather unorthodox way of continuing the Cycle of Death and Rebirth, causing a wrench in the Unending Song.

Shout out to one of my favorite ocs, I love them so much.

If you wanna learn more about her, well you gotta wait for me to update Codex djfkskfksk tho feel free to ask questions I don’t mind!

[sweetspeas]

every single one of these characters flounced into this trailer with they whole booty and I love them all your honor

Dragon Age: The Veilguard | Release Date Trailer 4K Character Screenshots

[thewordygreenlion]

Putting an 8th-century manuscript back together: Mich. Ms. 155 (Video)

#Video: That time I accidentally put an 8th-century #codex back together again based on #patterns of #damage. #manuscripts #paleography #puzzles

So a few years ago I took a class on ‘paleography,’ which is just a fancy word for ‘ancient (paleo-) [hand]writing (-graph-),’ because ancient manuscripts and papyri are incredibly difficult to read unless you already know how to read them. The final project was to type out one page of this book (Mich. Ms. 155, 8th century CE) [the link takes you to a collection of page scans]. I typed out most…