#dragon age charter

[sekaithemystic]

we really really really need charter in veilguard guys bioware spent a bunch of books and comics on how she basically co-leads this chase of solas and you are telling me she won't make an appearance? nah no way i need my elven wife and her magekiller girlfriend to come over and stay forever at solas my lighthouse and just talk trash about him while solas pokerface inside rook's head

[illusivesoul]

You think Leliana and Charter explored each other's bodies?

[moonlightheretic]

Seven Eyes (Scene 3 Rough Draft)

Spoilers for The Heretic and Tevinter Nights--Dread Wolf Take You

Curtains of rain lashed at the Keep’s window, lightning punctuating the gray silhouettes of the city topography below. Viscount Tethras tugged the crown from his graying head and cradled the precious metal in his hands. Lightning sundered the sweeping monoliths entrenching the city reflecting in the polished gold; it was time for all this to end. He set it on the desk before him and leaned into the plush chair, he had never felt comfortable with the weight, and now he no longer had to endure it. The restoration of Kirkwall was complete, the city much restored and prospering among the legion of city states in the Free Marches. But no matter the number of bricks laid, of foundations set, and fancy ribbons cut, it would never bring back who he lost, who the world lost.

The Inquisitor was gone, all reports hinting at her death had long been accepted by the public months ago, and to his great disdain, the news was subject to great adulation. A wicked agent of a would-be god, dead. He had failed to protect her as Viscount or even as her friend, all his efforts resulted in failure. At least he still had Hawke, it was the only thought that lifted him through the haze of grief.

Any inquiries he had made into that day…the day he failed to stop Leliana, and her rogue Inquisition were met with dead ends and unreliable trails. The saddest part of all was Moon’Hwa’s daughter. Just like her father, she was a mystery yet to be solved. Gone in the blink of an eye, no one could recount what had happened to her. Void, only a few knew what had transpired in the first place, for only a few had managed to walk away with their lives still intact.

But a stack of reports in his locked drawer conveyed their deaths, one by one. All witnesses to the great calamity near Ostwick were mysteriously dying off. Their deaths weren’t of the natural kind. At least no mortician could provide insight into the matter.

The great Inquisition army was humbled, dwindling into a few thousand that splintered off into the orders of the Templars and Seekers and private armies. Disillusioned with the Inquisitor’s proven betrayal they sought others that promised similar salvation. A few hundred surrendered to the combined forces of Kirkwall and Ostwick and pledged themselves to the protection of the Divine. Something she ruled herself as a final mercy for their loyalty, she had called it. But now, some members of her esteemed honor guard were numbered among those ill-fated parchments, a name listed next to the same fate. Deceased.

The cause of death was unknown, but one thing was for sure, the poor bastards never woke again. Seen the evening prior looking fit and healthy and by the next morning found dead in their beds. No struggle, no evidence of an intruder, nothing to indicate a cause of death, other than the dried blood trailing from their eyes, mouth, nose and ears.

Whatever had slain them, had done so from the inside, the weapon was biological.

The similarities described in those reports jostled him from any decent night’s slumber, whatever had killed the carta and templars over two years ago in that fucked up heist over the Red Lyrium Idol, was now taking aim at former Inquisition soldiers. The motivation seemed unrelated, and the incidents were sporadic, there was hardly a pattern to be gleaned. But there was a killer on the loose with what looked to be a very determined vendetta.

And it was time Varric Tethras investigated this personally. He owed it to Moon’Hwa to stop the Dread Wolf and he owed it to Solas to stop him before he made such an earthshattering mistake. If he followed the bodies… perhaps he could find him at the end.

Varric massaged his temples with his weathered fingers, a headache churning as his thoughts circled back to the same question that had been haunting him for months: Who would he target next?

But Varric did not need to deliberate for very long---a flurry of footsteps assaulted the hallway behind his grand doors, and the guards shouted, their voices rising with alarm, alerting to an unknown presence.

Varric rose, pulling Bianca from beneath the desk and trained her at the doorway, his finger draped around the trigger and he closed one eye.

But a new voice joined them, ringing with familiarity and strained urgency.

“I need to see the Viscount! I was sent by her Holiness Divine Victoria!”

“Let her in, Boys!” Varric hollered at the door and retracted Bianca, gently sliding her under the desk.

She stormed in with the chorus of thunder, hair matted to her face, and water droplets beading off her leather duster with each stretched step.

“Maker, Charter it’s been…what? Four years?” Varric couldn’t help the sheepish tone creeping into his words. The serious look on her face did not relent and the former viscount dropped the mood lifting chatter. “What’s wrong?”

“The Nightingale is dead. I was sent this.” Charter pulled a bundle from her coat and slapped a hastily wrapped parcel on the desk.

Varric unwrapped the swaddling with quivering fingers and unveiled the tome, his hands jolting backwards as if he had been scalded. “Is this what incriminated the Inquisitor?” A leaf of parchment peaked out purposefully, disrupting the perfect bindings despite the tome’s palpable aging. “Yes.” Charter confirmed and pursed her lips, it was a heavy topic. “You need to see this.” Varric nodded and grimaced, carefully hooking his thumb into the wedge of pages and pulling the stuffed parchment out.

A folded sheet, old, but newer than the paper of the tome, bloodied and torn, greeted him with trepidation and sorrow, smeared sentences jotted in evident haste; descended into the fold. Varric turned the paper around and unfolded it.

“This is…” He breathed, as his eyes scanned over the bloody writings.

“Inquisitor Lavellan’s last missive to Sister Nightingale.” Charter finished for him with the peaks of her knuckles pressed into his desk. “We believe…well I believe it was written from inside of wherever Solas kept her.”

“Moon’hwa wanted Leliana to find her and Solas?” Varric’s gaze grew pensive as he read downwards, meeting the poorly drawn map at the bottom corner. “Why? She knew Leliana would kill her.” Varric slapped the paper with the back of his hand, “What in the world? She made herself bait?! This confirms it!”

“It confirms more than that.” Charter frowned “I was sent this tome by the Divine when Leliana was condemned to Weisshaupt…then I received this parchment with word of her death. I… don’t know who it came from. But someone wanted me to…have it.” 

“You are the Informant to the Divine now, right? Quite the entrance you made in my keep for a spymaster.”

The auburn-haired elf nodded and bit into her lip, shame tinting her cheeks, but nevertheless she steered the topic back to the subject at hand. “You should…flip the page over.”

Varric leveled with her with his brows raised, he wasn’t sure he wished to see more, hell he hardly had time to digest what he had just read. But appetite be damned, and he willed himself to flip the page.

The infamous dwarf deflated into his chair; his fingers splayed out over the illustration. “Well, shit.”

A perfect rendition of the Red Lyrium Idol sketched in obsessive strokes and shaded in with crimson charcoal. He only knew one artist so skilled.

Varric scrubbed his face with his palm and sighed, a confession perched on his lips.

“She tried to warn us before…but at the time Hawke and I couldn’t see the relation. The idol was stolen, and I failed to track it down…the trail went cold in Tevinter. Hawke has been looking into it for me.”

“He may already have it…” Charter swallowed the knot in her throat and fidgeted on the spot as she recalled the memory. “Over a year ago I was entrusted with searching for Solas independently from Leliana. The Divine wished for me to call a secret meeting with some notable individuals that claimed a sighting of the Dread Wolf. Remember I asked for your Carta Contact regarding that night?”

“Yeah, I remember. I had no idea it was in relation to Solas!? Could have tipped me off about that! Maker, I would have joined you at that meeting!”

“I…don’t think it would have been the best idea.” Charter’s jaw clenched, “He was there. Varric, Solas showed up himself…and he killed everyone at that table. I was lucky to have been granted amnesty.”

Varric was thankful he was sitting down as he absorbed the full weight of her account, his belly filling with despair and…guilt.

“Everyone at that table had a story regarding the Idol. But Solas…he claimed that he already had the idol in his possession.”

“Bullshit.” Varric growled, shoving his fists into his pockets and grinding his teeth. Despair surrendered to rage.

Charter dug her finger into the weathered tome, “He strives to bring down the veil and restore ancient Elvhenan…he tried to convince me that life will be better for those like me.”

Varric ripped his hand out of his pocket and gestured to the window, “If he already has it, why hasn’t the world been flipped yet?! Why delay this wonderful reset? Chuckles doesn’t have it; I’d bet coin on it.”

“Varric…I understand your frustration…but Solas is no longer a friend. He asked me to write to the Inquisitor…it’s a report I could never deliver. Lavellan was lost to us at the time. Leliana was rampaging all over the Free Marches looking for her. In hindsight we speculate Solas knew that but feigned otherwise. It was a deflection. We believe that Solas already had Moon’hwa in his custody and he wanted us to think otherwise. Why would he boast about the idol but hide the fact that he harbored the Inquisitor?”

“Because he wanted you out of the race.” Varric grumbled.

“What?”

“He is drawing you away from the search by making himself the target. If you believe the Idol has been claimed by Solas then the Divine will stop looking for it and instead, she will refocus her efforts on him, leaving one less contender he needs to deal with. He is bluffing to keep you out of the search, Kid.

Charter’s brows scrunched, the skin between them smashing together as she paced back and forth. “The real threat slept in our camp every night. I have never forgotten that. The world won’t either.”

“Imagine how Moon’Hwa felt. She absorbed the brunt of that. A holy scapegoat to suit the needs of an ungrateful world.” Varric shook his head and closed his eyes. A dreadful thought trespassed into the light and a shiver tumbled down his spine. He pushed his elbows onto the desk and leaned in, glaring up at the fretting elf before him. “How did Leliana die?”

[in-finitesuns]

my f!lavellan's best friend (besides dorian, obvs) is charter and leliana gets cranky because sometimes charter beats my lavellan so handily at wicked grace that she has to take charter's watch every once in awhile at caer bronach.

no more romance. romance is canceled. tell me about your warden/hawke/inquisitor's best friend and any info you want to add about their dynamic 🖐

[mrs-gauche]

The Dread Wolf Take You (Part 1)

~~Link to the complete 31 page comic here~~

"Imagine that, overlooking the god in your mids!"

May I present, my attempt at illustrating the last four pages of Tevinter Nights. 😁 (Also, the first time I'm posting art on here!)

As the whole thing was quite literally too long to post on tumblr, I uploaded the full version on a customized site made for reading webcomics (via ComicFury). Feel free to check out the link above if you like to read the rest! Also, if you're on mobile, there's a "Scroll View" option for easier navigation. :)

And, obviously, HUGE spoilers for those who haven't read Tevinter Nights!!

On a personal note though, I can't believe I actually finished it... As it had been a *very* long time since I drew (and finished) anything, let alone a 31 page comic and reading Tevinter Nights again finally sparked my motivation (and the courage to post it lol). So I want to thank Patrick Weekes for helping me overcome this massive art block and over two decades of Case Closed mangas for inspiring me how to draw an overly dramatic "exposing the imposter" moment. 😂 I tried my best to be as faithful to the book as possible and it took me forever, so... hope you like it! :D

[larkoneironaut]

My Tevinter Nights art project 🐺🦚:

—The Dread Wolf Take You—

written by Patrick Weekes

Finished!! I’m kinda emotional, I started this project in 2021! It took me so long because I sometimes had way too long breaks.. At least you can see my art progress ✌🏽

[maintitle]

Gonna put this behind a read more because it may be a massive spoiler, or it may be me clutching at straws, but this will be a very rare speculative piece from me on DA:V:

So I've had the suspicion for a really long time that the betrayer in DA4 is actually Harding. I always felt like Inquisition was very careful with keeping Harding away from Solas, and while I don't think it was intentional I do think it's something they've commited too.

Folks can correct me if there's something in Tevinter Nights that I'm missing, but at the very least in the post-game comics stuff Harding has always been very quiet about him. She's there, she's helping hunt him, but she's always kind of quiet about her own involvement with him.

There's a really telling page from The Missing that I can't get out of my head:

One of Varric's most core character traits is that he knows people, but doesn't ever see the worst in them. He can identify a bomb that's ready to blow, but he's too close to it to see the fuse lit on the other side of it. He saw Anders was a ticking bomb, he recognized Solas was very quiet about himself, but he didn't think much of it because he figured these weren't things that were his business, and that the good traits they had outweighed the bad. He has had a terrible track record of knowing there's a knife coming to stab him in the back but not looking for it to come.

This, to me, is Varric identifying that Harding is sympathetic to Solas. He realizes she doesn't see him as the danger Varric knows she is. Problem is, he knows and likes Harding, so he won't admit to himself that it may be a problem. This is his way of warning Charter without having to admit to himself that she might be a liability, not because she's not talented but because she might buy what Solas is selling.

I'm not necessarily saying Harding is against Varric in The Missing, she is very commited to at the very least finding him there, and she does say at least once that they need to stop him. But she's really distracted throughout the journey, and the journey is one dead end after another.

The info on the characters revealed that Harding now has magic. I find that odd, for both the obvious lore reasons of Dwarves not having magic, but also because of the timing. We basically know what Harding did with her time right before Veilguard, unless they set that time randomly back several years. The only way we know of that a Dwarf could get magic is through the Titans. Maybe that's the excuse she'll use, but I somehow don't think she magically went down there for no reason and ended up with powers that made the only person we know for a fact get them never leave the depths again.

There's also the fact that the side content has heavily implied Charter may well be a mole, but at this point that just seems like way too obvious a hook to take. So if there's a mole in what remains of the Inquisition... I think we may have a winner in an unlikely place.

I don't know, it's just a gut feeling. But it gets stronger and stronger the more we find out.

[felassan]

Current IMDB page for DA:D. (bearing in mind that iirc IMDB is sometimes incorrect and anyone can contribute to it) [source]

[plasticfreckles]

solas original funny man tho

witnessed the consequences of his actions [fucked around and found out], took a depression nap, fails to fuck around again, cue very long winded temper tantrum, getting someone else to do it

then considers neither fucking around nor finding out bc

pretty elf girl 🥺🫠

[maybe tevinter nights spoilers under the cut?]

also if i remember correctly he says sth "your people will survive" or words to that effect to charter in the "dread wolf take you" short story. could very well be he's lying, but considering how the story plays out, i think its unlikely

but imagine solas doing his thang, tearing down the veil, killing the evanuris, all elves live exept for lavellan bc she has his mark

crying screaming throwing up

all men do is lie and think with their dicks

[flamansz]

Please don't hurt her in the next games

[daitranscripts]

Haven Ambient Dialogue

Charter and Pellane

Haven Masterpost

—

Charter: You're Scout Pellane, yes? Sent to observe activity at Redcliffe? I'll take your report.

Pellane: I don't report to you, knife-ear. I'll speak with Commander Cullen.

Charter: By all means. When you do, please inform him that you refused to speak to me.

—

Pellane: I spoke with Commander Cullen. I, ah, apologize for what I said earlier.

Charter: It is nothing. Now, Scout Pellane, what can you tell me of Redcliffe?

Pellane: The mages have been quiet since their attack on the Conclave.

Charter: Their attack? Do you have information confirming that the mages were responsible?

Pellane: Well, I had assumed…

Charter: Don't. Our job is to acquire actionable information. Assumptions can lead you to overlook something vital.

—

Pellane: How could that great Breach not have been caused by the mages?

Charter: It is reasonable to believe that magic was involved, but we cannot assume it was the rebels. How many powerful mages died at the Conclave, Scout Pellane? How would those deaths benefit the rebels?

Pellane: I… I’m not sure.

Charter: Good. Now you're thinking. That's a start.

Pellane: What's your name, anyway?

Charter: You may call me Charter, Scout Pellane. Now lower your voice. Your report is not for the world at large.

—

Pellane: We've got scattered reports of Tevinter sightings in the Hinterlands.

Charter: Mages?

Pellane: And their servants, yes.

Charter: Hmmm.

Pellane: You think they might be connected to the attack on the Conclave?

Charter: Assumptions, Scout Pellane. But… no Circle mage has ever caused anything like the Breach.

Pellane: Fair point.

—

Pellane: What kind of a name is "Charter," anyway? It doesn't sound elven.

Charter: I said that you could call me that, Scout Pellane. I never said it was my name.

Pellane: You're a bit terrifying at times, Charter.

Charter: Why? Because you're realizing that every elf you casually call "knife-ear" might have a life you know nothing about?

Pellane: I was hoping you'd forgotten about that.

Charter: In this line of work, we can afford to forget nothing.

—

Charter: So we have Tevinter activity in the Hinterlands, and the templars are compromised.

Pellane: You think the templars are responsible for the attack on the Conclave?

Charter: I think they're a piece of it. As are the Tevinter in the Hinterlands.

—

Charter: Your report on the Seeker Fortress was excellent. It gave us information we dearly needed.

Pellane: Thank you. I just… I don't know. It used to be easy: Blame the mages, or blame the templars.

Charter: That simplistic thinking is fine for soldiers. You and I are more than that, Scout Pellane.

Pellane: It's not going to stop, is it?

Charter: I would be very much surprised if it did.

Pellane: Then I suppose I should get back out there.

—

Charter: And you've heard nothing of this "Elder One" before, in any of your investigations?

Pellane: Nothing. I'm sorry.

Charter: No. It's taken all of us by surprise. We must… I don't know.

allied templars Charter: He compromised the templars, and is likely responsible for the disappearance of the rebel mages.

allied mages Charter: He compromised the rebel mages, and is likely responsible for the disappearance of the templars.

Pellane: And we know nothing about him.

Charter: We will, soon enough.

—

Pellane: Charter, if you're free later, would you like to have a drink at the tavern?

Charter: Are you courting a knife-ear, Scout Pellane?

Pellane: No! No, I… I don't know. I used to drink with the soldiers. But I can't talk with them anymore, not really.

Charter: You've seen enough pieces to have some idea the size of the game we are playing.

Pellane: Yes, and… I'm sorry. I just… You understand. This Elder One… there's no one I can talk to…

Charter: I'll be in the tavern this evening. Perhaps you could buy me a drink. Make sure you take a bath first.

[songofamazon]

quiet village, folded letter, hopeful!

Next up from the prompts of @galadrieljones, this is a shorter one.

Please do send me more requests/ideas for Inquisitor Lavellan between Tresspasser and Veilguard. The combo of a feeling, a general location, and an item is a fun way to do it, but I'll take pretty much anything. This referrs to the final story in Tevinter Nights, "May the Dread Wolf Take You." Onto the ficlet:

Dew flecked the grass, already evaporating to only a sliver of a warm sunrise in the east. A warm morning spoke to another hot day.

Here beyond the long shadows of the Arlathan forest, the farmers of the hardy village of Gortríse were already wading into their paddy fields.

Elanna skirted the edges, crossing ridges between paddies on well-worn wooden planks. Her staff thumped across wood, sod, and muck. The residents—humans and no few elves—paid her little mind, from beneath their wide-brimmed straw hats. They knew a hot day was coming as well as she did.

Perhaps the mix of elves and humans was why Charter asked to meet her here, in this otherwise inconsequential village southeast of the great forest.

A small part of Elanna longed for the cool shade of Arlathan—or the foreign yet comforting peaks of the Frostbacks—but the rest of her being quivered with anticipation, like a spell on the tip of a staff the moment before it was let loose.

A ghost of a hand that wasn’t there reached for her hip pouch where Charter’s letter was tucked away, before she realized it was a useless gesture. Besides, she didn’t need to actually read the coded message to know its contents. Elanna had read it over countless times since it arrived by raven in a sealed message tube to her clan’s camp a fortnight ago.

Inquisitor,

My meeting with informants from various factions was more informative than expected. Now we definitively know what he was after this past year.

He was there. Impersonating an Orlesian bard. There was a wig involved. I almost missed it at first, but he spared me. More out of regard for you than from my asking, I suspect.

Meet me in the village of Gortríse. There is a small tavern and guesthouse on the town square where we can discuss things more privately. I’ll be watching for you.

Also, he wanted me to pass a message to you:

‘Tell Elanna that I am sorry.’

Charter

Those words echoed in her consciousness, his voice as clear as if spoken into the air. Elanna’s heart constricted at each repetition in her mind.

Still, after years of silent dreams, he still thought of her.

But also, her fragmented network of allies that were once the Inquisition would finally have something solid to go on. To stop him.

To find him.

Elanna squinted into the sunrise as she crested the hill where the village perched. The tavern’s painted sign was unmistakable among the huddled, thatched buildings.

Charter would have far more to say. She rarely missed anything, said or unsaid. And she would entertain every one of Elanna’s questions, even the frivolous ones. By now, the whole core knew what he meant to Elanna, and she to him.

Elanna crossed the town square at an eager stride. It was time for glimmers of answers.

Solas, ma’venahn. I’m coming for you.

[warpedlegacywrites]

Chapter 13: A Much-Needed Respite

Theresa is feeling the stress of recent events more than usual, and Cullen convinces her to spend some time at the bath house to recuperate. While there, she's confronted with a revelation she's unprepared for.

Charter nods, already onto the next item. “Sutherland’s reported back.”  Theresa’s heart skips. For a report to come in all the way from Skyhold that quickly… That was either very good, or very bad. Judging by Charter’s face, she’s not optimistic.  But she’s not prepared for her answer. “It was a demon of Regret.”  Theresa’s whole body grows cold, despite the languishing heat. Regret! Oh Solas… “How much damage did it do?”  “A lot,” Charter answers flatly. “It slaughtered the caretakers who refused to evacuate with the Tranquil, but thankfully there were no other casualties. None of Sutherland’s crew were killed, either.”  Alive, but not unharmed. Theresa allows herself a moment’s sorrow for the loss of life. Still, it could have been much worse. Regret is relentless, and its roots go deep. “Does Leliana know?”  Again, Charter nods. “And she wanted me to warn you…”  “She’s closing it off.” Theresa swallows past the sudden lump in her throat.  “I’m sorry, Inquisitor.”  “Don’t be. It’s the right call.” She shakes her head, feeling her hair sway with the motion, frizzed and weighted by the humidity. I’ll have to find somewhere new for the Tranquil to go.   It had been a beautiful dream, but all dreams must eventually end. A lesson Solas also must come to learn.  But this raises a new problem. “Skyhold’s loss will look like a weakness to those watching from the outside,” she says carefully.  “Yes,” Charter agrees. “Sister Nightingale said she’d keep it quiet for as long as possible, but she’s also stirring the pot within the Chantry. There are a lot of daggers pointed at her back at the moment.”  “Stirring the pot” likely means dropping some rage bait into local discourse, and seeing who rises to bite. Theresa guesses there will be a new controversial edict issued by Divine Victoria in the next few days. Leliana is not one to mitigate risk. And if any of those daggers slip past her defences…  “I understand.” Theresa keeps her eyes on Charter, though her attention is trained keenly on Rosalie. 

DAFF tag list: @rakshadow, @rosella-writes, @effelants, @bluewren, @breninarthur, @ar-lath-ma-cully, @dreadfutures, @ir0n-angel, @inquisimer, @crackinglamb, @theluckywizard, @nirikeehan, @oxygenforthewicked, @exalted-dawn-drabbles, @melisusthewee, @blarrghe, @agentkatie, @delicatefade, @leggywillow, @about2dance

[kaija-rayne-author]

Really starting to feel like a conspiracy theorist over here with Dragon Age, but I'm just thankful the special interest is sticking around.

In the scene where you ask Solas if he wants the power of the well... he sounds pretty vehement in that scene. And shuts the possibility of him being the one down rather abruptly for such a smooth speaker.

What if he knows it'll enslave him again?

There's a working theory that Mythal enslaved him based on a few bits of lore, one of which is his forehead scar. It's canon that he got it when he burned Mythal's vallaslin from himself.

Which, if he was entirely pleased with her/her actions, why would he do that? "Burn the vallaslin"... that must've hurt like blazes.

In his time, they were supposedly slave markings. I don't think he was lying to Inky about that. He generally doesn't lie smoothly or well. He can act, but only to a certain point.

Finished Tevinter Nights and was absolutely blown away by The Dread Wolf Take You. Charter is my new favourite bad-ass.

Like with many anthologies, some stories I blew through, and some, the author's voice just didn't work for me. In one or two, the antics the characters got up to dearly needed a 'hey, uh, physics doesn't work that way and have you ever actually seen a great coat?' poke or three from a decent developmental editor.

By and large, most of the stories were good. I've definitely added to my list of things I think likely in Dreadwolf. I get the strong impression we'll be seeing at least some of those characters, monsters, or locations again in Dreadwolf. Highly recommend reading the books and comics, btw.

They're quite fun, and add a lot of lore and context to the games. I've still got The Missing to read, then the companion books. I will say the first book, The Stolen Throne, is a bit rough and feels anticlimactic. But the rest are good to mind-blowingly awesome.

[thatssolavellan]

Finished reading The Missing #1 and I kinda feel like I'm ending this in tears

[bees-bees-fear]

feel like pure shit just want her back x