#dragon age 4 lore

[askfordoodles]

"Young man, you cut that tsundere bullshit, I know what you're doing, I wasn't born yesterday." - Secret Brat Tamer Volkarin

[felassan]

Stuff Spite smells. DA:TV spoilers under cut.

Poking around in the game files. lines pertaining to Spite's habit of narrating smells.

"(Inhales) Smells like... Lucanis."

"(Inhales) Smells like... Rook."

both self-explanatory.

"(Inhales) Smells like... jam and brimstone. "

jam - Harding, brimstone - Taash?

"Smells like tears. And lying."

Solas.

"Smelled like strawberries and blood."

a lady at the market who was selling ribbons and who was into Lucanis.

"(Inhales) Smells like... melon and woodsmoke."

Taash?

"(Inhales) Home? Smells like dust and linseed oil."

Villa Dellamorte.

"(Inhales) Smells like blood. Ashes. Not done. Not yet."

After killing Calivan in the Ossuary.

"(Inhales) Smells like... incense. Old meat. And starched linens."

Necropolis (it has triggered in the Memorial Gardens).

"(Inhales) Smells like... old teeth and burial spices."

triggered when getting to the door before the Fade tear on the Grey Warden island in the Crossroads, where there are some skeletons and urns.

"(Inhales.) Smells like... fear. Sweat. And frustration."

unsure.

"Spite says the magic smells like oil on water."

unsure.

pls correct me if I'm wrong with any of these or if I missed any. ◕‿◕ some I know I've heard in-game but can't recall where they were placed or recall for sure.

edit: thankyou sm to users @violetwreck, @symphorine and @quilleth for sharing info in the notes below :) post has been updated.

[ammocharis]

One bit of obscure Dragon Age lore a day until Dragon Age: The Veilguard is released

Andraste had a half-sister named Halliserre whose mother was an alchemy advisor to Elderath, Andraste's father. One night, young Halliserre followed strange lights into the forest, and Andraste went after her. Halliserre died in mysterious circumstances, suffering wounds no ordinary weapon could make. Then fires broke out in the woods, leaving Andraste sick in the lungs for many years. Andraste couldn't remember exactly what had happened, and later came to believe that her sister's death was due to heresy of the alchemist - according to Andraste, Hallisere's mother whispered of the Old Gods.

Source: Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, pp. 10-12

Previous bit

[shewolfofvilnius]

I truly don't think folks appreciate how big of a lore bomb dropped in Dragon Age the past couple of days in that video where everyone's fixated on Solas' (magnificent) hair. MAJOR Veilguard spoilers after the break:

Back in the day, Ghilan'nain's likely the one who weaponised the Blight in the first place on behalf of the Evanuris, and may or may not even be responsible for the creation of prototype Darkspawn (and we see she has her own 'unique' darkspawn in the game.)

Solas confronts her (then non-blighted) over it, and she rebuffs him, claiming it's part of her ascencion to godhood.

Ghilly weaponizing the Blight also all but confirms that yes, the 'darkness' that Andruil brought with her in past codex entries was definitely the blight.

And Solas seems to move a step closer in his plan to move against the Evanuris after a conversation with Ghilan'nain and the action he has to take immediately thereafter to stop it's most immediate danger.

**And since we know that Solas/Rook *free a blighted Ghilan'nain and Elgarnan* [**ghillie is WAY more grostesque of the two], we know that wherever he trapped them, likely the golden/black city, was already blighted when the Tevinter magisters got there. He would have HAD to have trapped the Blight with them, and it would have had to have gotten out at some point (Hi Coryphenus)

Which ALSO ALSO ALSO means that the 'sin' the Chantry teaches of, the blight, was already present in Elvhenan centuries before the magisters sidereal were glimmers in their parents' eyes (and before Tevinter would have worshipped the Old Gods [who are they?], which means we absolutely, for certain, know that at least a portion of the Chantry's version of events and origin of the Blight is wrong. And whoever The Maker is or isn't, they didn't have jack shit with the blackening of the Golden City, lining up with what Coryfish says about it already being blighted when he got there.

And that's JUST from the Solas' hair video.

[calwyne]

From the new ‘Making of Dragon Age: the Veilguard’ behind the scenes video: 👀

“As we’ve gone through DAO, DA2, Inquisition… magic has become more and more present, and part of that is because Solas has been slowly preparing this ritual for longer than anyone in the Dragon Age universe is really aware of.”

[dragonagecinema]

Have you seen the Black City up in the sky in The Crossroads? Someone posted some up close images with the flycam and the city is incredibly detailed 🤯

It also comes up in the official artbook, which makes me sure that we were supposed to go up there at some point in the story. Too bad this content got cut, it would have been an amazing adventure 🥲

[thedissonantverses]

I love how the Blight is handled in Veilguard.

It starts with the rite of Tranquility right? That’s why we deal with it so much in the first three games, and find out there’s a cure. Tranquility is worse than death in a lot of ways, alive without the full experience of being human. Even the Qunari sew their Mages mouths shut rather than making them Tranquil, that’s how abhorrent Tranquility is.

At the same time, we know the worst thing is the world is the Blight. It’s why the Wardens are such a moral grey(pardon the pun) organization. They’re quite literally corrupted. It’s killed so many across Thedas their entire culture has been shaped by it for centuries.

What Solas and Mythal did to the Titans was effectively make them Tranquil and in the process created this new living creature that was made pure hate. In doing so they unleashed more pain and evil in the world than we may ever be truly able to account for. The Titans are the bones of Thedas and her people, broken and corrupted and dreamless. It’s little wonder the world is such a dangerous and terrible place.

And now we know there’s a cure.

[swampshi]

!!WIP!!

A memory of the great ceremony, where Blessed Sylaise received a generous reward from the All-Mother Mythal for the creation of the Grand Palace, where Evanuris held councils for many decades.

[mossattack]

(Some silly headcanons about Mortalitasi and Nevarran traditions that ended up leading me to Emmrich. How typical.)

We don't actually know all that much about Nevarra and their customs. World of Thedas and some of the in-game codex tells us some key points: strong royal families, a rich history of dragon hunting, an elite group of mages rumored to be heavily involved in makings of the country, and, of course, the thing that this country is most famous for - the fascination with the dead.

Our very own Nevarran companion mentions a couple of things about her home country:

And even though she doesn't seem fond of Mortalitasi practices or Nevarran customs surrounding the dead, she admits that some stories that pervade the South are greatly exaggerated:

(I feel so called out)

This makes me think that this interest in the dead is still a personal choice. I doubt that an average Nevarran is obsessed with those rituals any more than an average person from Ferelden is with theirs - those are just a part of their traditions that obviously affect their lives in unique ways, but that is all.

Now, Nevarran nobility are a different matter. They are said to start the construction of their tombs very early in life - lavishly decorated palaces with gardens, ballrooms and bathhouses. A sign of power and wealth for them, and that I can believe.

But when it comes to Mortalitasi, do they, in general, care as much? Do they take all these things, all these rituals, to extreme somehow, professional pride and all?

How much would a Mortalitasi care about their own tomb? Would Mortalitasi friends and colleagues ever promise to lead the other's ceremony depending on who dies first? "Oh, I'll totally mummify you if you're the one to go first, don't you worry, I know you think that Markus is getting sloppy".

The coffin sharing is also not unheard of (the spouses from The Flame Eternal), and I wonder if it's ever used as a grand gesture - to ask someone to be placed in the same tomb?

(And just imagine how messy this could get, the way people are. Building a tomb together only to have a falling out, what are you even supposed to do after that?)

Would it be romantic then, to tell your significant other that you don't want to ever part from them, even in death?

Beacause imagine Emmrich writing a quick letter to his friend from the Mourn Watch (Johanna, if they are still friends after all these years, or Myrna), "doing fine, on a saving the world business trip, will be back when I can; could I trouble you with a favor - a bigger coffin, installed in my tomb, not urgent, just whenever you have the time."

When the reply comes and his friend is (obviously) asking for a reason for such a sudden change, he just looks at Rook from the corner of his eye and replies with "no particular reason, just felt like it."

[galedekarios]

i don't know how to put this into words yet so it makes complete sense so bear with me while i gather my thoughts, but...

i think a lot of the criticism i have re: decisions bioware made with veilguard are (at least in part) the company's direct responses to the (in my eyes) often unfounded and disproportionate hate that inquisition received from the fanbase.

[meganooooooooooooooo]

OK I haven't seen anybody talking about this

(Probably because most people I've seen have not played as human in Veilguard yet).

But if you do and visit Mythal at the end of Regrets of the Dread Wolf, this is (paraphrasing) what she says to you that is specific to humans: "Though we created our bodies to look human, I did not ever expect to see any humans in the Crossroads."

I had previously thought that Solas saying, "I have no wish to become human" in the memories was a mistaken choice of word, that he meant person instead of human, but it's NOT. As far as we know, humans did not exist in Thedas at this time. So....I HAVE APPROXIMATELY 1 BILLION QUESTIONS. (That the game of course does not answer because it is not finished).

[3gremlins]

me: i care less about dragon age now, it's been almost decade, i am tired.

*a few crumbs of dragon age news*

THE BEACONS ARE LIT! GONDOR THEDAS CALLS FOR AID DISCOURSE!

[felassan]

DA:TV spoilers/long post under cut.

((this post is just a bunch of random stuff/assorted lil things and thoughts from as I was leafing through my screenshots folder lately, dumped together into one post so as not to spam.))

Maybe Morrigan wrote this Codex entry? in Witch Hunt she said "Many fear change, and will fight it with every fibre of their being. But sometimes change is what they need most. Sometimes, change is what sets them free", and she is associated with grimoires, has been in the Crossroads before, etc. this note seems to explain why in DA:TV [iirc] the Crossroads no longer looks different for elves compared to how it looks for the other lineages. "an eluvian has two faces" - as an aside, this phrase or idea makes me think so much of Falon'Din and Dirthamen and their situation.. twin souls (or rather twin soul-fragments), a shadow and a reflection, parts of the same whole. like the Roman god Janus (and other deities with this trait), depicted as having two faces, in his case one which can see into the past and one which can see into the future.

Spirits/Demons of Rapacity are a new (to us) thing. maybe they are a Hunger demon or a type of Hunger demon, like how Audacity was a Pride demon? eating, consuming. but rapacity can also be the quality of covetous avarice (wealth etc), so maybe Desire? or maybe it's simply its own thing/aspect, or embodies something else (entirely possible, it sounds like the southern Thedosian way of conceptualising demons is academically out of date/old-fashioned in-world).

Envy, of course. for me this note also implies the existence of Frustration demons.

Misery is also new. maybe Despair/a type of Despair demon? or again simply its own thing.

Despair is known. Shame interested me as it reminded me a lot of the Marquis of Serault's great-grandfather, the Shame of Serault (Dragon Age: The Last Court you will always be famous). he became an abomination. he was known as the Shame because his actions brought shame on the marquisate, but what if also the demon that possessed him was.. Shame? new headcanon just dropped. yes. I love it (๑*ᗜ*) Horror also interested me. like as in a Gibbering horror, an Arcane horror, or simply the aspect/quality of Horror, which is totally something you can feel?

Some more new ones - Chaos, Disorder, Disruption spirits/demons.

Saravarin, a (likely) agent of the Dread Wolf's rebellion, who seems to use they/them pronouns. :)

The first time I noticed the broken remains of Bianca on Varric's bedside in the infirmary, I was so sad. a tale ended. and that was when I thought it was just imagery of his retirement and injury, before I knew about The Reveal.

A dwarf named Kevan Brubock invented flushing toilets!!

This scene seems to depict all of the Talons arranged up there on stage behind Illario (First, or rather representing that here at the moment), as along with Illario there's Teia (Seventh) and Viago (Fifth), but there's one model too many, since Illario is representing House Dellamorte here. that aside, neat to see that along with Teia, two of the other current Talons as of this timepoint seem to be elves. (in TN there was Giuli and Bolivar) Could the elf second from the left be Bolivar Nero? ^^ he survived TN. In TN he was described as having a long shock of white hair and wearing a suit trimmed in bear fur. that character model has long pale hair and putting them in that armor gives the impression of a fur or feather trim!

It was cool to see the new statue/asset of Mythal, and its inspirations that it has from this one found in DA:I.

Not just the appearance of the nervous system, they got a whole lil brain under there.

The Viper/Ashur is the youngest son of Corimer Vesperian, Imperial/Black Divine Aequitas II. (Corimer is such a cool name btw). below is an excerpt from the gamefiles in addition to this, game files seeming to confirm the in-world rumor:

This wall art shows Solas leaving through the eluvian at the end of Trespasser, having frozen the Qunari to stone. :')

I just thought this note/lore on Chasind beliefs and cultural practises was really neat. so in Chasind culture there is a god or other venerated figure known as the Owl-mother, She of Spring and Tide. they're known to personify the seasons as female warriors, maybe Owl-mother is the personification of Spring?

This note seems to hint at (the often fan-theorized) idea that there is some connection between the Forgotten Ones and the Forbidden Ones. (see also the Band of Three - a connection between them has been theorized by people in-world as well). on that subject,

This note is found in the chamber where Rook fights the Formless One. at this point the Formless One is in the form of a dragon (possessed dragon corpse). the "this form" therefore is dragon form. maybe the "old rivals" Formless is talking about here are the Evanuris, who the Forgotten Ones warred with, and whom the Forbidden Ones were exiled by? (btw, "For abandoning the People in their time of greatest need, for casting aside form to flee to where the Earth could not reach" makes it sound like the Evanuris exiled the Forbidden Ones during the time of the Evanuris' war against the Titans for the crime of.. not helping in the war with the Titans, and running away from it somewhere where the Titan's wrath and fury could not harm them.)

due to this, this note reminds me a lot of Ancient Elven Writing from DA:I -

"His crime is high treason. He took on a form reserved for the gods and their chosen, and dared to fly in the shape of the divine. The sinner belongs to Dirthamen; he claims he took wings at the urging of Ghilan'nain, and begs protection from Mythal. She does not show him favor, and will let Elgar'nan judge him." For one moment there is an image of a shifting, shadowy mass with blazing eyes, whose form may be one or many. Then it fades.

Here, the Evanuris forbade the divine form of dragon to a "sinner", who is hinted here by the bottom text to have had a shifting form which could have been one or many. (sounds like Formless). so the Formless One was maybe originally a slave or follower of Dirthamen's. if the other Forbidden / Forgotten Ones, or some of them, were also originally slaves or followers of the Evanuris (I wonder which?), no wonder they ended up warring with them. Geldauran for example wrote "I am Geldauran, and I refuse those who would exert will upon me." in reference to the Evanuris.

The floating items in the Regret prison in the endgame each individually representing a member of Rook's team was so [falls to knees crying.png]. oughh. masterful. this was a really neat art/design choice. :> it also made me think about my Rook and what items I would use to represent them in a similar fashion, like as a fun thought exercize.

Maybe.. the titanic claws of the Dread Wolf's wolf form? :)

This codex is found in the Heights of Athim. I was right :D

The spirit-fish in the Lighthouse Meditation room were summoned by someone and apparently require feeding, Shepard's cabin fish-style :). Maybe this argument was between Solas and Felassan?

The Lighthouse was the heart of the rebellion. interesting interpretation of the imagery there with the suggestion of its light being the light of his divinity.

At some point Keeper Hawen from DA:I stumbled through an eluvian into the Crossroads. I wonder if the bright light he saw on an island in the distance was the light of the Lighthouse.

they knew the halls would be kept by the Caretaker. could this codex have been written by Felassan?

This codex is found on the piano thing in the music room in the Lighthouse. the associated art is of Mythal. the expert hand and memories are Solas/Solas', no? and the other person in the duet, the beloved memory is Mythal/of Mythal[?] this codex put me in the mind of Codex: Birds of Fancy from Trespasser. not saying that I think the "Birds" were Solas and Mythal btw, just that it reminded me of it (fluid ancient elven memory etc).

like as in these lance-beam-looking things? from the in-game light puzzles?

For this one I just wanna say I loved this codex entry, this is how folklore and regional variations of stuff like that can work in our world too, really neat :)

assuming Seer Rowan wrote this recently, this codex seems to confirm the year in which DA:TV events are set as 9:52 Dragon, as we thought.

[thedeadthree]

𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐆𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃 ➸ irulanne . the rook .

𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 . 𝐄𝐋𝐅 . 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄 .

-`. template by @kanos . coloring . icons .

✧ ― 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 (ask to be added or removed or interact 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞!!):

@pavus, @wlwaerith, @shadowsofrose, @grapecaseschoices, @nokstella

@queennymeria, @risingsh0t, @carrionsflower, @leviiackrman, @griffin-wood

@confidentandgood, @aceghosts, @tommyarashikage, @shadowglens, @yharnams

@anoras, @theelderhazelnut, @florbelles, @celticwoman, @pinkfey

@kyberinfinitygems, @cloudofbutterflies92, @carlosoliveiraa, @shellibisshe, @adelaidedrubman

@lavampira, @capelizabeth, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @statichvm, @unholymilf

@aezyrraeshh, @imogenkol, @aceghosts, @full---ofstarlight, @ellierenae

[royalich]

The way that rook words my choices makes me feel like jiminy cricket sitting on their shoulder screaming at them "that is NOT what I told you to say—"

[princess-aeducan]

I got demon types from the DA wiki, so not sure if this is all-encompassing- use the something else button and lmk what if it isn’t!