#dragon age key binds

[the-northern-continent]

Guide: Manual Keybinding in Veilguard

I’ve been having some issues with the keybind menu — certain keys are hard to assign. I’d try to assign a key and the box just wouldn’t update. I noticed some other people have had similar issues, both before and after the recent keybinding patch.*

This will likely be fully patched eventually, but in the meantime I worked around it by manually updating my keybind file. It’s easier than you’d think! Here’s how:

Exit out of Veilguard so it’s not running.

Go to File Explorer and search for “Veilguard”. A couple folders will come up.

Check in these folders until we find a file named ProfileOptions_profile.

Right click > open in Notepad.

We’re now going to see a long file with a bunch of lines. Don’t be alarmed by the size, we’re going to use ctrl-f to jump through it.

Each line that includes “.button” represents a keybind. The words are the action we’re trying to do, and the number right after “.button” tells us which keyboard key is bound to that action. We can find a table for those keyboard codes here.**

*I don’t have inside knowledge, but I suspect the trouble comes from keys that are also used to navigate the keybind menu itself. I think the menu gets confused when those keys are pressed, and doesn’t bind them properly.

**Games use various different mappings from keyboards to number codes. Huge shoutout to _eits on reddit for figuring out which number mappings Bioware uses. The reddit post also has some more in-depth info if you’re interested in that, e.g. for mouse mapping. It’s technically a guide for Anthem but most of the info also applies to Veilguard.

Example

Let’s say we wanted to remap “skip” to “/“. If we check the table, the numeric code for “/“ is “53”.

For this example, let’s assume “skip” is currently mapped to “[space]“ (code 57).

Now that we know what number codes we’re dealing with, we can go back to Notepad. We can ctrl-f for the word “skip” OR the number “57” until we find a line that looks like:

GstKeyBinding[...]ConceptSkip.button 57

Now we can plug in the numeric code for the key that we actually want. So in this example, we would change it to

GstKeyBinding[…]ConceptSkip.button 53

Once we’ve updated the line, save the file and close it. Open Veilguard and go to Settings. Confirm that the keybind menu is showing the desired key for that field. So, in this example, we would expect that “skip” is now bound to the “/“ key.

For most keybindings, we’ll probably need to do a bit of trial and error to find the right name. This file isn’t meant to be player-facing, so it uses a lot of weird/obsolete names for different actions. For example, opening the pause wheel is referred to as “PingPartyMember”. If you’re nervous about making changes, save a copy of the file first, so you can go back to the old version if needed.

[tired-fandom-ndn]

your post on the extended abernant family and will readings is making me want more on the abernant family as a whole not just adaine, aelwyn, and the parent’s whose names i cant spell if i tried

just adaine and aelwyn having an extended stay in fallinel because word spreads amongst the family that the two nieces/how ever many great grandkids have returned home after so many years

and they just have a small (actually quite large) and impromptu family reunion

where the sisters tell their tales of solace and in return they get a general info dump of their family members they havent seen since they were quite small

and oisin is getting a shovel talk in the corner by their dragon born cousins and after that they start binding over dragon things like their hoards and etc. while the elves catch up

[context]

YES YES YOU GET ME ANON THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT

They get a letter from a great great aunt just complaining about how they were in Fallinel and didn't even visit their family except for their useless father??? The fact that they were in PRISON is not relevant, their aunt would've posted bail for them if she'd known! Anyway the whole family is getting together for a reunion and they HAVE to come, obviously, grandma's been asking about them for AGES and don't they want to see everyone and meet their new baby cousins??

Adaine and Aelwyn aren't given the chance to argue, they're just told a time and place (their grandma's castle, the same one she'll eventually leave to Adaine) and invited to bring any friends/partners/children (their family does not understand how old they are). Adaine drags Oisin with and maybe the Bad Kids if she can convince them; maybe even Ivy if she and Aelwyn are a thing. They have to have a powerpoint presentation for everyone going with, covering all the most important people and explaining to Oisin why exactly there's a giant fucking dragon skeleton so that he's not caught off guard or made to feel threatened.

There are. So many fucking elves. And half-elves and silver dragonborns and a scattering of other races from marriages. But just A LOT of elves with very long names who are all speaking different dialects of Elvish and still seem to understand each other somehow?? Adaine and Aelwyn are both MOBBED by family members they haven't seen since they left Fallinel (or even earlier, I could see their parents isolating them from the family) and even by family members they've never met; there's an uncle who left to become a forest hermit and that reunion is the first time anyone's seen or heard from him in 300 years.

They get people picking at their hair and complaining about how much fashion has changed (that cousin still wears their hair in styles that were popular 1,000 years ago), older family bragging about being related to the Elven Oracle, teen cousins wondering why they weren't sent to Kei Lumennura too, their grandma praising them for being so lovely and intelligent and good and how on earth did her useless grandchild (I can't decide if I like Angwyn or Arianwen being the Abernant more) produce such wonderful children, and lots of baby cousins getting shoved into their arms. One of their uncles asks why Adaine didn't just talk directly to their cousin in the Court of Stars about being paid and she's like what fucking cousin?????? They get passed around the reunion for hours and spend what feels like every possible moment of the days (and weeks?) following telling every single family member stories about their adventures and life in Solace; their little cousins play games about their adventures, pretending to defeat the Nightmare King and slay Kalvaxus.

Meanwhile YES, Oisin has absolutely been cornered by a dozen or so silver dragonborns (maybe with a scattering of other colors) to interrogate and threaten him, which would be a lot more effective if they weren't speaking a mix of a Fallinel dialect of draconic that Oisin can only understand every other word of and a variety of dialects of Elvish (which Oisin can barely speak) while Oisin's Solesian dialect of Common is difficult and confusing for the other dragonborns. They eventually figure out a system of communication though and Oisin happily hangs out with them (and away from Adaine's more intimidating family members) until he sees Adaine holding one of her baby cousins, a tiny silver hatchling snoozing in her arms, and he needs to be next to her IMMEDIATELY.

[faded-mage]

The Story of the Dread Wolf & His Emerald Knight Solas & Avise Lavellan Solas felt a strange mixture of pity and annoyance as he watched the unconscious prisoner at his feet. She looks so small. Fragile. A simple, mortal thing. He did not expect her to last long in her current state but he needed her to. The elf below him lay motionless on the floor with her wrists bent at an odd angle due to the shackles that adorned them. Delicate pointed ears poked through the curtain of dark hair that spilled across the stone floor. Dalish, he noted, the vallaslin that curved across her face indicated as much.

Part I:

Chapter 1: Ashes to Ashes Chapter 2: Dust to Dust Chapter 3: Facing the Breach Chapter 4: The Inquisition Returns Chapter 5: Of Refugees & Dreams Chapter 6: The Non-Elfy Elf Chapter 7: Cold, Wet & Angry Chapter 8: Curiosity Chapter 9: The Man from Tevinter Chapter 10: Return to Haven Chapter 11: Mending Bridges Chapter 12: The Moment of Truth Chapter 13: Tarasyl'an Te'las Chapter 14: The Flooded Town Chapter 15: Dirth'ena Enasalin Chapter 16: What Was Lost Chapter 17: To Save a Spirit Chapter 18: A Heady Blend Chapter 19: In War, Victory Chapter 20: In Death, Sacrifice Chapter 21: Maraas-Lok Chapter 22: The Forgotten Mage Chapter 23: The Lost Inquisitor Chapter 24: Stolen Moments Chapter 25: Din'an Hanin Chapter 26: The Well of Sorrows Chapter 27: Loved and Lost Chapter 28: Into the Desert Chapter 29: Attempts at Compassion Chapter 30: The Final Piece Chapter 31: Doom Upon the World Chapter 32: Bittersweet Dreams Chapter 33: Trespasser Chapter 34: A Murder & A Sanctuary Chapter 35: Under the Earth Chapter 36: Memories in the Fade Chapter 37: Vir Dirthara Chapter 38: A Race of Time Chapter 39: The Wolf & His Knight

Part II:

Chapter 40: A Lost Decade Chapter 41: Chaos in the South Chapter 42: The Key Chapter 43: Tell Me More Chapter 44: Simple Regrets Chapter 45: Hidden Treasures Chapter 46: Welcome to the Lighthouse Chapter 47: Reminders of Hope Chapter 48: The Emerald Knight Chapter 49: Ar Lasa Mala Revas Chapter 50: Vhenan Chapter 51: You Bring Life Chapter 52: Epilogue

Spoilers:

Heavy lore spoilers for Dragon Age Inquisition, Inquisition DLCs and Veilguard.

AO3: Honey & Wildfire Are Both the Color Gold

AO3: Golden Thread Does Not Bind

[lairofdragonagelore]

Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, and 4

Episodet: 5, 6, 7, and 8

What lore do we extract from them? What seems to be questionable or a recall of a concept from a previous game? I basically collect the interesting ideas and make small speculations or comments on them, testing their reliability or lore consistency as far as I can.

*These Podcasts, like Absolution, are not considered reliable sources of lore [read the end of the post]

Episode 1: Once a Thief…

This story starts in Minrathous and finishes in its borders with Anderfels.

Solas has been collecting relics all across Thedas. This is the reason why he has been hiring people to do research/digging work. This is not new, we know this from the book Tevinter Nights and the Comics.

The Archives of the Magisterium in Minrathous have a broad “collection of objects, scrap of writing, relics, or antiquities that are “remotely” interesting to the Empire”. Among them, the Eye of Kethisca.

The Eye of Kethisca: This is a new relic that appears in this story for the first time. We can suspect it's used to stabilise the Veil, locally. The object interacted with Nadia first, humming to her. It’s not clear if Elio is accustomed to that humming, the tense situation urges him to ignore it, or he cannot perceive it at all. I suspect the latter.

The object glows and “unleashed a wave of energy that tore the ground up and almost killed Elio.”

Solas assures that there is nothing to fear about this relic, and claims it was “made from a rare gem mined in the caves beneath them”. The object “forms a bond with a person and it amplifies their powers”. This is a strange piece of lore I cannnot connect with anything else from previous games. Binding processes are quite important and central in the stories of Dragon Age, but they tend to be magical ones with some level of ritual and procedure. In this case, it happens accidentally and spontaneously.

This Eye was “crafted centuries ago by a powerful dreamer” named An’Dante, who is related to Elio Andante [it seems that the original surname changed over the ages]. Solas implies to know Elio or his anscestors and claims that the Magister is a powerful rift mage, hence his suspicion for him to be the key to stabilise the Veil in this region via the relic.

This means that Elio Andante was related to a dreamer called An’Dante, which apostrophe [in my opinion, and all the following is a speculation] seems to imply an elvish name. I’m suspecting Elio belongs to one of the many Tevinter lineages that has some relationship or maybe even elven blood in them. It won't be the first time we are hinted with this concept: in the comic Blue Wraith we see a similar clue; Fenris claims that Francesca's plant magic was only seen in Dalish clans. It's clear for me that this increases the implications of ancient Tevinter being more tight with the Elvhenan than through invasion, co-opt, and erasure of their influence in the Tevinter culture [similar parallel can be found among the Dalish and Orlais in the South]. We also need to remember the highly cryptic codex Astrariums, which claims that Tevinter was more focused on astronomy before adopting the Magisterium system. On the other hand, via the many constellation codices we have all over DAI, we can see some bland links between Tevinter and Elvhenan culture. This link may imply that Tevinter and Elvhenan may have had better relationships than those that were developed after the Magisterium system was established. Another clue can be found in the Tevinter Mosaics, where one of the main Magisters is depicted with pointy ears and bare feet.

Solas is not sure if the magister perceived the Eye, so he keeps asking Elio if he can notice the Fade and this energy coming from the relic. We know, as listeners, that Nadia does. The lack of response from Elio leaves us without knowing if he can perceive it or not. We can assume that Elio does not, but he wants to leave a mark in the world, changing it for the better as he confessed to Nadia later. Therefore, he doesn’t deny nor confirm the lack of bond towards the Eye. He thinks this was fated for him. So, in his desire to become helpful in a moment of his life when he lost all his power and status, Elio wants to be “the chosen one” in this mission. Therefore, he performs the ritual and fails.

It’s also curious that a non-mage [Nadia] can perceive the energy [thin Veil] of the cave. Is this a lore inconsiscency? I would assume that this is a hint to reinforce the idea that the Eye was bond to her, and not to Elio.

Solas uses the word reckoning in his dialogue not by chance, this word is related to Flemeth’s words, and the revenge she has to archieve for Mythal. A reckoning that will shake the very heavens and will heal a broken, agonizing world.

The Eye starts to hum when they enter the cave. Solas explains this is an “ancient city chamber, once home to unspeakable acts. Many were sacrificed on these grounds, and the blood that was spilled weakened the barriers between the worlds.” They chant in Arcanum and Elvish. The cave seems to vibrate and probably some tear is open? Hard to know with only sounds. In my opinon, it is not really possible to connect this chamber with Horrors of Hormak from Tevinter Nights.

The ritual goes wrong. I especulate it is because the relic was not bound to Elio but Nadia. The Eye explodes, the cave collapses, and Solas and Nadia escape but leave Elio behind, since he has “crossed over”. I assume this is a similar situation to the one we saw in DAI when a tear opened right below the falling bridge of Adamant Fortress [read a refresh in Orlais, Western Approach: Adamant Fortress].

We learn later that Solas went to visit an “ancient burial grounds in the Hinterlands”. I don’t know if we can claim these hiterlands are the same ones in Ferelden.

When Nadia rides the horse at the end of the story, she has a connection with Elio. We can assume that these connections are possible due to the thinning of the Veil all over the world, and because maybe her bond to the Eye makes her bound to Elio [who carries the lineage of the crafter] stronger. However, it's a detail I would question from a lore-wise perspective. We never saw this kind of situation before. The only time we stepped into the Fade, physically, was in DAI, and there was no connection with those left in Adamant Fortress. This is a characteristc that may have been introduced now to explain what will eventually happen between Solas and Rook: we know Solas will be trapped in the Fade and bound to Rook to whom he speaks to.

Our future companion Neve is introduced in this episode.

Episode 2: The Cult of the Doom Blade

This story happens in Anderfels.

We learn there is a cult called “Cult of the Doom Blade”, which worships “The Deathless One”. It’s commanded by Bolmor. The Cult attacks and coherces a nearby town under the threat of the Hunger of the Deadless One, which has to be satified with sacrifices. Each month the villagers have a blind drawing. Two amongst them are chosen for the offering, but no one has ever seen what happens.

The ritual that Solas is performing to lock the Evanuris is causing a lot of alterations: tremors, anomalies, the veil grows thin. These events are taken advantage of by the cult to reinforce the idea of the “end of the world” and to force villagers to accept regular humanoid sacrifices. The one time that the town tried to fight them back they suffered a retaliation that made the cult take all their children.

Nadia meets Harding and explains why she is looking for Solas. Suddenly, her head rings and another contact with Elio from the Fade is established. She collapses and cames back to her senses later.

We are introduced to Drayden Kiel, a mysterious character: They define themself as a writer, scholar, and historian, who has been studying the Cult of the Doom Blade for nearly a year. Their goal was to study the cult and stop it for good. They read books about war, and claim that learning the patterns in history allows us to avoid being stuck. However, their story changes at the end of the podcasts: They were “researching the cult because they study the Fade”. The link between the Fade and the Cult is not clear for us. The Cult is not making the Fade thinier in this part of Anderfels so this line is curious at best. “If your problem lies beyond the Veil, I can actually help you”, they say, confidently.

Drayden is quite cunning. They claim they were researching the cult, had a plan of their own to escape with life and with the other sacrifice woman, and then entangled Harding and Nadia in a conversation to gently force them to fight for the town. They are good at reading the enemy and at learning their pattners to use them against them, reason why Drayden won a fight against Nadia only using their sword. Drayden made shock bombs durign dinner that allowed them to win the final battle. “It's a little trick I picked up from these things called books.” There is a lot of cunning and evasive very subtle in this character. Clearly there is more to Drayden than what they are allowing us to see.

Our future companion Harding is introduced in this episode

Episode 3: A Deadly Descent

This story happens in Anderfels, in a place that has a "crumbling face protruding from a cliff. It's the statue of The Green Guardian". In this place, neither "insects nor worms can survive the lands. No body can decay here".

There is a very popular mix in the Anderfels described as “rotten fruit sludge for your most refined taste buds.” Drayden even perceives it as sweet, which makes us assume that their year spent in this place is true: they have an “acquired taste” for this berverage.

Drayden claims that “If their studies of the Fade have taught them anything, it's that the future always hides in the past.”

Drayden is called by Haring “little egg” and by Nadia as “companion”, keeping them gender-free. Later, Drayden is smited by Davrin. We also learn they hate spiders.

In another scene, Davrin thinks and shares his thoughts to Goff about the rumour they heard: griffons are not extinct. This is an immediate call to the book The Last Flight where we discover 13 griffon eggs were saved from the Blight.

Drayden displays strange connotations; the natural way in which they speak about death makes us suspect some mortalitasi point of view in their vision of life: “Our deaths follow us like a shadow, seems only natural to make its acquaintance.”

When they step into darkspawns, Drayden claims to know about Blight magic, a knowledge we expect only Grey Warden could have. “Blight magic, look at the eyes behind it. Oh no. Genlocks”. So they know more than only Fade, they know about the darkspwan, their differences, and the Blight Magic; subjects of study a bit distant one another, and some of them extremelly secret for a particular Order.

It’s curiuous that the narrative, through repetition, presents Solas as a betrayer and a person who has “forced” Elio to perfom the ritual:

NADIA: (sighs) Elio, my partner, he wasn't just some magic wielder, he was an Altus mage and part of the Magisterium. But the Dread Wolf put a plan in motion to turn the Templars against him. He wanted to force Elio into a corner so he'd have no choice but to help him perform a dangerous ritual. (sighs) But the Wolf betrayed us. And now Elio is trapped somewhere in the Fade. Me and my companion here seek only to rescue him before it's too late. And we received information from the Inquisition that led us here. But now we walk away from the very tunnels that may reveal the Dread Wolf himself!

If we go back to the Episode 1, Elio was not forced to do this, Solas asked several times if Elio was connected to the Fade and the relic, and Elio did not answer straighfoward because his personal desire for being the source of change. Solas also said that the Ritual was as safe as possible. The misunderstanding lays in the fact that Nadia was the one bound to the relic, and therefore, the one who should have performed the ritual. We don’t know if Solas called the Templars upon Elio either. In fact, it would have been strange, considering he already had hired Nadia’s people to get the relic. If anything, Elio was the one who brougt attention upon himself with the guards. What I want to point out here is that we are shown once again how the narrative twists in a way that one character changes the facts, creates a whole different story, and spreads it to a lot of people, changing it 180 degree. This phenomenon is a reiterative topic in DA Lore: The eternal unreliable narrators that explain sitautions that have been twisted over time.

When they walk to the mine, the ground cracks, and they fall into its depths. As they escape from a mob of spiders, they find another underground chamber:

DRAYDEN: This chamber, it feels different from the cave. I can sense something. DAVRIN: You feel all that lyrium coursing through the walls. DRAYDEN: No, it's more than that. The Veil is thin here. We should be careful.

This to me reinforces the suspicion that Drayden is a mage in disguise or has spirits around them. No other characters in DA lore can perceive the state of the Veil when it’s not obvious [aka, a tear is right open in front of them]. However, the lore-questionable explanation will be given in Episode 4.

In this chamber, we find a mosaic that is described by Drayen as: “This is no ordinary mosaic. Look at the way the circle is split down the middle. The top half is onyx. It's like a mirror![...] You can see your reflection in the darkness. And this portrait below, the figures are upside down and pointing to the stars and to the sky” On it there are small wolf totems that represent the Dread Wolf usually placed at the Dalish camps in Arlathan.

This mosaic has an elven inscription that they can’t read, so Davrin translates the text from this ancient dialect: "Guide me on the path that splits the land between sun and moon." This is a concept that has started to be present in the lore in the last time, specially during the development of DAV [for example, in the Vinyl Art] but the oldest reference to suns, moons, and eclipses belong to DA2, that can be read in The Emergent Compendium. However, there were no other references all over DAI.

Solving the puzzle, Drayen presses some stars on the mosaic and the lyrium glows intensily, opening an energy fissure. If anything, this sounds like the description of an Eluvian and supports the idea that the Eluvian are made of lyrium [thus, they glow in that particular blue shown in DAI and can be corrupted by the Blight as it had happened in DAO]. This fissure apparently opens two exits: a tunel and a portal.

Our future companion Davrin is introduced in this episode.

Episode 4: Beyond the Veil

This story is located in the Arlathan Forest, which “shifts like a prism, magic rippling everywhere”. The whole episode shows its physical and time instabilities, and how dangerous it can be. This place was also featured in the comic The Missing [read the post for more details] with some questionable lore concepts [as it has been happening since Gaider left Bioware].

Bellara is chased by Templars that want her artifact. The object in question is Flicker, “an ancient Elven device built with secret metallurgical techniques lost to time.” It’s a relic that works as a guide or a hound in the Fade, “like a wisp that can lead through the Fade”. Again, this concept is quite questionable: during the time in which the Waking World and the Fade were one, why Elvhenan would requiere such specific device more suited for the instabilities that it has once the Veil was created? I hope we are provided some logical explanation about this.

The Flicker needs a “Fade sparkle” to come back to life. If anything, this process can be related to the creation of worlds as we saw in the codex Raising the Sonallium  analysed in Ancient Elven codices; Vir Dirthara where we see the creation of "life/worlds" by using the energy of the Fade.

Apparently, Bellara can animate trees. I’m not sure how this looks like, but I hope it’s not like Sylvans, since those are spirits trapped in or possessing trees. Decades of lore would become questionable otherwise.

There is a new concept of “bubbles”, places in the Arlathan Forest that have no instabilities of any kind.

The concept of Veil Jumpers is introduced: "an alliance of interested parties that have been trying to figure out what's happening in the forest, what's causing all of these anomalies, and ultimately, wants to seek to restore order on these lands". We were told about them in the comic The Missing, where Strife [also present in the book Tevinter Nights] is featured as well.

Bellara's role is to “map” the Fade, which is a concept a bit worrisome for me. We have been told via codices [reliable and not, for example Walking the Fade: Frozen Moments] during three games, that the constant change of the Fade, eternally reflecting the Waking World, makes it impossible to truly map it. Bellara also claims that “the deeper one looks, the less they seem to know about the Fade” which may be a link to the mysterious codex in DAI called The Deepest Fade which interpretation I’ve worked on Ancient Elven codices; Vir Dirthara.

We are informed that Solas has just recently taken another artifact from the depths of this Forest; this is a calling to the events happening in the comic The Missing.

We finally are explained why Drayden feels so odd: they basically can listen to spirits, an ability that always belonged to mages in DA lore. The explanation for their case, as a non-mage and yet having these powers, is highly questionable in my opinion. They developed the concept of “strange child touched by the Fade”, as if this were an unnusual case of sorcery a la DnD, when in DA lore, every single mage is a sorcerer, and wizardry does not exist. The unnecesary creation of yet another strange category is questionable, specially when we have been told in 3 games and several books that there are low magic mages, that barely can cast anyhting, and yet they feel the Fade and can suffer the same dangers than any mage. Another potential explanation, with less lore-breaking implications, is that Drayden may be an elf-blooded human, so they developed this sensitivity to the Fade as a consequence of the recent alterations that the Veil has been suffering for the last decades under Solas’ ritual [let's remember that Solas wants to heal/return the world to its previous state where elves were eternal and magical]. However, we don’t see this effect in more elves or elf-blooded humans to consider it a potential explanation. Again, a very questionable concept in my opinion. I hope a better in-lore justification is provided in the game. Addition: We also have the situation of the Seekers that acquire a magic/Fade-related power when a Spirit touches them after their tranquility. Maybe there is something of this in this character [and Lucanis].

The group jumps into the Fade and Nadia meets Elio, but due to the many hints shown in their dialogue, we can suspect this is not the real Elio but a spirit trying to trick Nadia. Later, the Templar that was chasing them in the beginning of the episode appears in the Fade as a “corrupted” entity and kills Elio. This situation messes witih Nadia's emotions. Is this Templar another spirit?

The corrupted templar rises a whole “army from the Fade itself” [?] that are all “lyrium-corrupted”[???]. Suddenly, this Templar seems less of a spirit and more of a Red Templar. It’s confusing at best.

As Bellara and Drayden try to bring Nadia to her senses, a “Fade Storm” appears, making the Fade more unstable [???]. This may be part of the consequences of the ritual that Solas is performing. Apparently, going deeper into the Storm is safer [???] since “the Templars will be just as susceptible as them, corruption or no”. The logic in this part of the podcast is highly questionable. They finally escape the Fade through a tear.

The Templar kept the ring that Elio gave to Nadia and finishes the scene with a clear intention of using it against her [?]. Very confusing.

“There's a small fluctuation in the ether right there. I think it's the Veil!” That line is so weird, I’m very worried about the lore of this game and how much has been pulled out of nowhere just to make it easy and fast.

It’s a bit funny for me that after 3 games showing the gravity of physically stepping into the Fade and the dramatic implications of the Black City, we are just able to jump in and out of the Fade as if it were not big deal and we can walk around the Black City as if it were a park. The concepts lost entirely their gravity and solemnity. The comic was more serious and careful with this. You never stepped into the Fade, you only walked through zones where the Veil was extemelly thin due to Solas' ritual.

The story ends with Nadia and Drayden falling in Pall Vollen, where qunari soldiers speak Common perfectly, without any accent, instead of Qunlat.

We are introduced to our future companion Bellara.

These Podcasts, like Absolution, are not considered reliable sources of lore:

[princessmacedon]

{ happy anniversary!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together. Template courtesy of Neffi! 💕

Name: Red, more commonly nicknamed Reddo

Pronouns: they/them preferred, she/he OK!

Birthday (no year): December 28th

Where are you from? What is your time zone? moved to kentucky when I was young, and for sake of ease i use EST (TOAST)! i live near a timezone line, so i get to be flexible like that >vo)v HAHA

How long is your roleplay experience? with a few on and off breaks, roughly 15 years? i forgot about a period of my life where i 'moderated' (read: was the most active user on) a warrior cats RP site; my first foray into rp proper was in pokemon rp on tumblr, my first muse was lyra but i didnt have an internet name until i picked up and settled into writing (you'll never guess who)

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? kind of half answered this above oops, but with warrior cats i genuinely dont remember? i probably just googled warrior cats and wound up there HAHA. for pokemon...... honestly probably the same thing

How were you introduced to TOA? key had mentioned it to me in passing a few times, so i knew she was there, but it wasn't until my friend zyra mentioned it to me and suggested we write macedon siblings together again that i actually joined, hahaha

Do you have any pets? i do! i adopted a ?? year old dog from the shelter about six years ago, so now he's x+6 years old :] pretty sure he's some kind of border collie mix, but not certain! his name is tobin, but he'll answer as long as you say 'ob'. he's a sillyhead

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) it used to be winter because i love the snow! but as i get older and more harrowed by weather conditions, i appreciate how normal and not-trying-to-kill-me autum is HAHA

What is your IRL occupation? (finger guns) figuring it out

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? drawing was my first love! i like reading, especially comics, and writing; i like video games and immersing myself in stories, and have passing interests in things that i don't commit to trying out (like resin, charms, etc etc)

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? FFXIV, mainly; genshin impact and hsr; various farming-ish sims (story of seasons + old harvest moon, stardew valley, rune factory, currently fields of mistria); to a lesser extent dragon age, ace attorney, various VNs / otome / rhythm games, pokemon until roughly scarlet/violet era and then my wallet couldnt keep up with it HSDFSGVSD

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: as a kid it waffled between fire / dark, but not sure i have a dead set favorite type anymore. favorite pokemon still lucario and appletun for sure though!

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! (Optional bonus challenge: if you filled this out last year, try not to repeat what you said back then!) - i love christmas and thinking about gift giving! when i was in school my christmas spreadsheet hit like, 50 names HAHA nooooo way do i have that energy anymore, though - i'm reasonably fond of baking and also reasonably terrible at it! something always goes wrong but usually (usually) stuff comes out pretty tasty in the end. except for that time i set my oven on fire

How did you get into Fire Emblem? my friends were talking about how much fun they were having with the new game at the time, awakening! it looked fun so i decided to try it out

What Fire Emblem games have you played? - Beaten: Genealogy, Blazing Blade (FE7 if youre like me and still cant remember which one is which), Shadow Dragon & New Mystery, Awakening, Fates (Conquest + Birthright), Three Houses (Blue Lions) - Started: Binding Blade (FE6), Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance (FE9), Fates (Revelation), Shadows of Valentia, Three Houses (Black Eagles & Golden Deer), Engage

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: Awakening -- still Awakening! possibly tied with 3H, though. i really enjoy games where i can peacefully level grind

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! vaguely ordered, it's: Wolf, Maria, Cordelia, Seliph, Katarina...? if you think you're seeing a trend you're probably right, hahaha ^^ writing a character is an expression of love for me, so inevitably my muses climb higher and higher on my list over time

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! the clearest one i can remember is wolf, because when i was playing fe11 i was passively using him because he was pretty, and then he got 7 crits in a row and i was like :pika:

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳i'm weak toward green haired women AHSJASFDSF but actual game crushes, hmm... not sure!

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: chrom -> still chrom! - Fates: takumi -> hmm... silas or flora? - Three Houses: dimitri -> still dimitri, except now he's duking it out with yuri - Engage: i have the ring in my pocket as we speak, suffering from the burden of choice... probably diamant though?

Favorite Fire Emblem class? whatever class my blorbos thrive in

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? in all likelihood i'm a villager with just absolutely baffling AI. not entirely stupid, but you cant in good conscience say it's smart either HAHA as a playable unit though, i might be a recruit-type? i could do well if you help me grow, otherwise i'm just this scruffy shitty thing tucked into your pocket. middling-high skill growth, paper defense, and you wish you knew what my speed growth was because i don't (probably fast as a mage but realistically NOT as anything physical)

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) my heart says blue lions, but if i'm just some guy (unaffiliated civilian) i won't be surprised

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? - Boons: Reason - Banes: Authority, Gauntlets - Budding Talent: Flying

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) hmm... probably either Firene or Lythos! i'm too much of a weenie to be from brodia HAHA

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) toah, like noah! to all my xiv gamers out there this definitely applies to job shorthands too. durg. dirk. whum blum sidge. rurpur and rogg...

Current TOA muses: Maria & Katarina

Past TOA muses? Cordelia my beloved

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Maria! unless something unprecedented happens, i don't see that changing. writing her, her want and determination to love and find wonder in the world, to spread and be joy -- it just puts me in a good place! it's really, genuinely helped me a lot, even if her extroversion is exhausting to my introvert ass sometimes HAHA

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) uhhh... i definitely tend toward characters who are in some regard defined by a form of love or strong emotion, romantic though it need not be -- people who have some sort of powerful, aching tenderness in their heart. i've not really done as much as i've wanted in terms of bringing that out of them, but it's definitely something that draws me in to a character in the first place!

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? ooh, there are lots of characters i like who have a brusque edge or manner, who might be harsh or cold... i wish i could do that! i'd like to try, i think. and also the funny, energetic, boisterous types -- i love to see them and be around them, but i definitely can't pull it off hahaha

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) it's been a while since i've gone all in on this kind of scene, but i love emotional scenes and heart-to-hearts -- the sort of thing where you're communicating your feelings with everything you have and trying to reach someone else! i usually rein myself in well shy of that though, hahaha. i worry a lot about getting too lost in the sauce and derailing a conversation/thread, or making it all about what my muse/what they want to communicate.

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? for katarina, i'd love for her to make some friends! she's her own worst enemy in this regard, separating herself from friends/friendships whether consciously or subconsciously. for maria... well, i'd love for her to have a real heart to heart with someone!

Favorite TOA-related memories? to this day i miss and adore annie's frederick! his dynamic with my cordelia at the time was so much fun to write and to talk about and we had such thoughts for how their relationship would evolve -- it's one of the most interesting and endearing relationships i've had the pleasure of writing! on a sillier note, i often think about leif hauling ass after kanoesa's lewyn HAHA

Present or past tense? it used to be past tense, but i think toa's successfully converted me to defaulting to present hahaha ^^;; consciously at least, i try to match whatever my partner does!

Normal size text, small text, no preference? it doesn't matter to me, but i do hate fighting tumblr to keep all of the small text small.

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 the wolf app/blog i've been refining on and off for the better part of three years is no secret HAHA, but i've seriously contemplated writing a few other characters! radd and boucheron, to name a couple. i get super attached to my characters though, so it's a bit tricky

[pinkyjulien]

i haven't spent much time using mods but the equip-able flat chest mod is very exciting for my nomad V. Vel enjoys having full breasts like the vanilla model has but in my headcanon they also will bind when they want/need to so I'm stoked to have an option that fits their gender presentation and Fashion Needs TM. Thank you for your work and for providing extra options. Gender expression is so diverse and it can only be better to have various options!!

Aaaah, thank you so much for the kind words!

I'm glad to hear the flat chest fits your V 🤗 EDIT: Oops I pressed the wrong keys 😭✋ TIL Enter+CTRL automatically publish a post gfhgh Providing people with mods that allows them to explore their V's identity is something I've always done, and will always do! 🧡

I have a couple more update planned for the flat chest mod, and I'm excited to get back to it (after I've finished with my dragon age replay eheh)

Thanks again for the sweet ask 🧡

[six-improbable-things]

I understand that Dragon Age: Origins was released in 2009, but key boards have NOT changed in the last 15 years, so there HAD to have been a better way to make the controls... (yes, I know keybind changing is a thing, but that doesn't change the issue of the available options of what to bind to keys being very clunky. Like dear god, the camera maneuvering is TERRIBLE, holy shit.)

[fizzyfizu]

Accursed in the Lake’s Depths

Chapter 1.3 : An Odd Discovery

Harry J. Potter / reader

MASTERLIST : The Archives.. ⊲ previous ༄.˚₊ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 ₊˚.༄ next ⊳

      Harry swam through the thick seaweeds,  using them to hide himself from the merpeople guarding the supposed task.  When he finally found the clue, thanks to Cedric’s help, he certainly didn’t expect to have to search the Black Lake for something dear to him.

      “Blimey, I can't see anything here..it’s only the second task and im struggling already.  Godric, just how hard will the third task be?” he thought.  Though maybe the dragons were enough of a warning.

      Finally reaching a clearing in the seaweeds, what he found was definitely not expected…

      The fogginess of the water dissipated, and a young girl could be clearly seen.  Around Harry’s age, no older than 14 surely.  Was this who he needed to save?  But then the clue wouldn’t make sense now would it, as this girl is for sure unknown to him.  Much less dear to him.

      Despite his reasonings he threw them aside and quickly went to free her from the rope bindings that held her down.  The ropes were thick, covered in algae, and were slimy,  prompting him to make use of his wand.  “Diffindo!” Harry tried to cast a spell, he wasn't expecting bubbles to come out of his mouth instead of the incantation though.  It seems that the gillyweed hadn't given him the ability to speak underwater.  Never minding that, the spell had worked as intended, and the ropes were severed—causing the girl started to float upwards slightly.  

      He quickly grabbed a hold of her wrist and started to kick his flipper-like feet as much as possible.  And Merlin's beard was it hard, sure Harry played Quidditch a lot, but he barely made use of his legs during matches and right now he feels as if he had just ran a marathon despite making minimal amounts of progress.  He couldn't be sure, but it felt as if the water around him was pushing him upwards, as if the water around him wanted the girl out and back onto the surface.  Eh, must just be him getting delirious from exhaustion. 

      After what felt like decades (15 minutes at best) Harry finally reached the water's surface.  The gillyweed was still in effect though and he couldn't breathe in the fresh air properly just yet, so for now he's just gonna have to settle for keeping his head under the water until it wears off.  And wear off it did!  Thankfully it didn't take long for his body to return to its original form.  He worked his way through the water and onto the shore, but there was one key detail that told him he did something wrong.  And it was that his surroundings were..well–they weren't the stands full of onlooking students any longer, no, in their place stood plenty of tall, lush trees.  

      And as Harry looked around more, he couldn't help but notice how he definitely went off course.  But Harry quickly recognized the obvious sight before him, Hogwarts.  And he could also make out the front entrance of it from where he stood.  Orienting himself from that observation, then he should be south-east of Hogwarts..right?  Banking on his theory being right, he started to follow the shoreline west-ward.

A/N: Thats it for now ^^ I hope this was a fun read bc omg this took me way too much brain power to write

[dhr-ao3]

The Dragon Lord's Queen

The Dragon Lord's Queen https://ift.tt/wFpVz5H by hishighlady Hermione, a sheltered princess, is thrust into a life of raw power and ancient rituals when she is married to Draco Malfoy, the fearsome Dragon Lord. Their union, intended to protect her kingdom, binds her to a man who demands everything from her, both in public and in private. Caught between fear and a surprising connection to the man she now calls husband, Hermione struggles with the emotional toll of her new life. Draco is both a fierce protector and a tender, complex partner, his touch both commanding and unexpectedly gentle. In this new world of harsh expectations and unyielding traditions, Hermione must find the strength to survive and adapt. As she and Draco navigate their evolving relationship, she learns that their bond might hold the key to a future that’s more than just duty—a future that could be built on trust, strength, and something deeper than either of them expected. Words: 2266, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, House of the Dragon (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M Characters: Hermione Granger, Hermione Granger's Mother, Hermione Granger's Father, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Ginny Weasley, Weasley Family (Harry Potter) Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Dragons, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Drama & Romance, Vaginal Sex, Loss of Virginity, Knotting, Oral Sex, Implied/Referenced Torture, Public Sex, Mildly Dubious Consent, She's doing it out of duty!, Age Difference, eventual pregnancy, Pregnancy, Breeding via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/wRD9rC7 August 20, 2024 at 11:11PM

[p-odpalacz]

decided to go back to dragon age inquisition to further hype myself up for veilguard, didn't make a new game but loaded a year-old save. the difficulty is on nightmare. combat AI is off. for some reason, i am a mage. the key bindings are all messed up. what was i thinking

[another-life-rp]

❝ Diamant, ❞ Alear began as he approached. Thankfully, the manakete was aware of the particular reason why this day was special, and he considered it part of his duties to acknowledge them to keep morale high. With that said, he had gone out of his way to select a decent gift he thought the Brodian prince would like. Handing him a well-cared for, old-looking history book that looked as though it came from a second-hand bookstore, Alear gave him a smile, ❝ I hope this gift is to your liking. Happy birthday. ❞ Although the appearance of the text wasn't well esteemed, he hoped that the pages would speak their value for themselves—the seller had told him that book was one of a kind.

The surprise coloring Prince Diamant’s face gave way to abashed laughter as he took the gift from the Divine Dragon’s hands. “I am truly humbled, Divine One. You shouldn’t have troubled yourself over my birthday, of all things.”

The tome’s binding was aged but firm beneath the prince’s fingers. Its title was written in a dialect that had fallen into disuse, but that was no deterrent. In fact, a desire was sparked within Diamant to pour through the work and decipher the history recorded on each page. “How intriguing! I haven’t dedicated myself to a book like this since…”

The crown prince traced the faded maroon cover of the book he'd pulled from the library's towering shelves; the memoirs of an avid adventurer who’d journeyed to the farthest corners of Brodia.

In this tranquil corner, the royal family took refuge around a glowing hearth. At the upright piano sat his mother, guiding young Alcryst’s fingers along its keys as they played a familiar melody. His father rested beside him on the sofa, pouring over the latest field reports from the front. The King had elected to attend his paperwork outside the confines of his study that evening; Diamant was exceptionally glad.

Turning eager eyes back to his book, the prince flipped the browned pages open to the introductory passage. After an arduous day of honing his body on the training field, he yearned to escape into the whimsical accounts of the land he called home.

Alas, it was partway through the second chapter that Diamant’s eyelids grew heavy with the day’s labors. As hard as he fought, the fire’s warmth and the piano’s dulcet tones only hastened his surrender. His head tipped sideways to rest upon a sturdy shoulder, and he sank deeper into sleep's embrace as a calloused but gentle hand carded through his hair.

Diamant gazed down at the weathered tome in his hands; its cover blurred in and out of focus. When at last the prince lifted his eyes to Alear, they shone with deep gratitude and something a touch more pained.

"…Thank you, Divine One. This gesture means more than I can say."

[tripstitan]

Another chapter from my long running webnovel series, AAoMM transcribed over to Wattpad for those that prefer it!

An Age of Mysterious Memories - B 1 C 12: Further Yet (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1380626656-an-age-of-mysterious-memories-b-1-c-12-further-yet 

Step into a realm where memories collide with new realities, and the boundaries of existence are rewritten. Join Reggie, Lil, Luni, and Teuila on an adventure that defies the rules of the world they once knew. It's a journey where survival becomes paramount, as they grapple not only with the untamed wilderness but also with the shadows of their past. In this extraordinary series, you'll experience a narrative unlike any other-an exploration of adventure through the eyes of someone wrestling with inner demons, PTSD, anxiety, and a profound sense of identity. Our narrator, though at times unreliable, unveils a tale that will captivate and challenge your perception of reality. But it's not just the internal battles that define this epic. Drama and personal growth flourish in the crucible of relationships, where dialogues pulse with emotion.

And if you're a fan of RPG elements, there's a rich tapestry of systems to delve into, intricately woven throughout the narrative. Dive into the prologue for an immersive experience that will leave you craving more. Here, you'll discover a world that seems plucked from a video game-a place where mastering its mechanics is the key to survival.

Our heroes, champions of a realm teetering on the brink of chaos, will inspire you as they learn to embrace their limitations and keep pushing forward. Love, loyalty, and courage bind their tight-knit circle, offering a glimmer of hope against overwhelming odds.

While you may find echoes of beloved anime, manga, and video games like Tensura, Digimon, and Dragon Quest, rest assured that this journey is uniquely its own. Any subtle nods are purely coincidental, but when the series pays homage, it does so with a playful nod and a wink. Join us in this spellbinding adventure that defies reality and challenges the very essence of existence. Your quest awaits.

[pinkfey]

🍓🍇🍰🍻🌽 for any of your dragon age or twd ocs >:) because i'm in a da slash apocalypse mood

ODD OC ASKS ♡

ME TOOOO okay i'm doin these for nova baby 🧡

🍓 does your oc have any particular scents they like? or hate?

nova HATED the smell of weed which is kind of funny for her bc she's like a classic punk and like everyone she knew smoked and most of all her roommate but post-apocalypse she's sort of nostalgic for it and would kill for that sense of normalcy again she'd KILL to be annoyed at her roommate one last time

she also hates the smell of sweat and metal which like. sucks for u queen. this is a zombie apocalypse.... get well soon ❤️

🍇 what sort of friend are they? where are they in the group dynamic?

ANNOYINGGGGGG SO ANNOYING but also integral bc they're the first one to risk their life and the first one to throw herself at danger and the glue that binds everyone together with their stupid jokes and ideas like when she and barbie went on a supply run to a department store and returned with the lamest matching sunglasses for the whole gang <3 it's kinda like she's such a rat and everyone knows it but where would anyone be without her

🍰 what's something your oc counts as unforgivable?

messing w the squad 😩 nova doesn't value herself highly so she can forgive any mistreatment of herself but the gang is a whole other story. not at first too !! in fact they were one of the more quick-to-trust survivors of the bunch initially, but after this whole thing went down with a bunch of cops it 1) solidified everyone as inseparable and 2) jaded everyone and made them especially wary of strangers.

for nova her family never treated her like they should have and she blamed herself for it so here she gets this second chance at family and she would do anything to keep it and after seeing the fucked up shit humans are capable after one strike ur OUT forgiveness is off the table !!

🍻 what's your oc's favourite comfort ritual? how do they calm themselves down after a rough day?

pre-apocalypse they'd rollerskate at the skate park with their stupid headphones on trying to look really really cool or maybe go to like an arcade. getting out, though, that was the key.

post-apocalypse i wouldn't say they have any specific rituals, but when they're more anxious they throw it into something productive for the group to keep their mind off things. checking defenses, making pipe bombs, working on the cars, etc. they do fuck around a lot too they just don't stop moving !! knife tricks and flipping lighters and such--anything with their hands.

🌽 how does this oc feel about acts of affection? what's their favourite act of affection, physical or emotional?

they eat it up, especially when it comes from someone who isn't touchy, like andrew. neither of them are affectionate and there's such a tense unspoken thing between them where there's all this trust and loyalty and confidence but any sort of touch would send either of them into a coma bc it’s like an acknowledgment u know?? too much TOOOO much

she's fond of unexpected hugs. she never knows what to do with her hands but it makes her feel loved and needed bc growing up mommy didn't hug her enough 😢 jsdfjndshdjfjhd amalia once ran up to her and gave her a huge hug and kiss on the cheek after pulling a really stupid really brave stunt and it rewired her brain. like 😳 omfg ppl care about me?? no fucking way.......

also small acts of affection like when ariel ruffles her hair or she and daisy do their lame ass handshake 😩 friendship u know??

[skraaaaaaaa]

Do I want to spend a whole day figuring out how to key bind my controller to play dragon age 2 on pc or do i want peace

[rosielovemore]

Immortality

Greetings, seekers of eternal life! Today, let's embark on a journey through the realm of immortality—a coveted ability that transcends the limits of mere mortals. Join me as we explore the various mystical avenues and forbidden secrets that promise an ageless existence.

✨ Elixir of Life ✨

The Philosopher's Stone, a creation of the renowned alchemist Nicholas Flamel, holds the key to the Elixir of Life. Although it doesn't grant true immortality, this elixir restores youth and extends the drinker's lifespan. However, even while consuming the potion, one remains susceptible to diseases and fatal injuries. Regular consumption is necessary for eternal youth.

✨ Fountain of Youth ✨

Legends of the Fountain of Youth have echoed throughout the ages, promising a restoration of youth to those who drink or bathe in its enchanted waters. However, this elusive fairy spring remains hidden from most, with only a select few fortunate souls discovering its rejuvenating powers. The Fountain of Youth has been depicted as a river, spring, or any sacred water source capable of reversing the aging process and providing miraculous healing.

✨ Phylactery ✨

A Phylactery serves as a receptacle for one's soul, ensuring a form of immortality. By preserving their soul within a phylactery, a Wizard remains alive and impervious to the passage of time. However, the act of capturing or fracturing one's soul to create a phylactery is considered a violation of the natural order, a vile act that few dare to pursue.

✨ Timeless Age ✨

The realm of Timeless Age grants users the ability to halt the effects of time, freezing their bodies in a perpetual state and achieving a form of immortality. Mastery over advanced time manipulation techniques and unwavering concentration are necessary to maintain this state. While users may appear to teleport, heal wounds, and defy the need for sustenance, the perpetual focus on this technique poses its own perils.

✨ Innocent's Crimes ✨

Unicorn magic possesses the power to save a drinker from death, even when on the brink of the abyss. However, forcibly extracting this magic condemns the drinker to a cursed existence, having stolen the life force of an innocent creature for self-preservation. Such acts involve breaking off the horn of a unicorn, an act reserved for those with nothing left to lose.

✨ Dragon's Blood ✨

The volatile nature of Dragon Blood, when combined with lily petals, yields a substance reminiscent of the Elixir of Life. Consuming a Dragon's Blood Flower, a lily petal infused with dragon's blood, revitalizes and rejuvenates the body's aging skin, muscles, and organs. However, this elixir has significant side effects for pregnant women, as it can bestow their offspring with a unique natural ability for potent healing magic. Acquiring dragon's blood is a grave offense, as it involves trespassing upon the dominion of the mightiest creatures on Earth.

✨ Soul Swapping ✨

Soul Swapping enables a Wizard to switch bodies as their current vessel nears death. To obtain new bodies, a Wizard must either claim another's through dark means (murder) or create their own vessels through puppeteering—a highly advanced blend of alchemical and conjuration magic. Both methods are strictly forbidden and carry severe consequences.

✨ Magical Contracts ✨

Magical Contracts involve binding a magical creature or being to one's service, often achieved through coercion or force. This practice, viewed as a form of slavery, is highly illegal. Wizards who engage in these contracts often find themselves entangled in twisted negotiations and consequences. In one instance, a portrait continuously ages in place of a man, a constant reminder of his immortality.

[hellisdex]

ok, i have to put my dragon age: dreadwolf theories down somewhere for posterity, so my thoughts on dreadwolf and the origin of the blight:

what if dreadwolf is the blight?

theory + supporting evidence:

the dreadwolf title announce page says that "dreadwolf" is solas' namesake

solas himself says that "the dread wolf" is a misnomer

solas leading the dreadwolf into the fade, potentially as a weapon to use against the evanuris. i take the former picture as his own interpretation of his actions (freeing, leading, liberating) and the latter as the potential truth (the wolf is a dangerous weapon). it also looks tainted

solas could have tricked the evanuris into believing the blight made them stronger, when it only made them mad and evil.

this would explain why he is the dread wolf - named after the dreadwolf, the trick he pulled to defeat the evanuris, the cloak in which he wrapped himself.

the evanuris are locked away; each god a key in the black city, protecting thedas from the blight. he has to create the veil to do this. binding them into the fade itself prevents anyone from reaching them - or so he thinks.

the black city is breached; the magisters let the blight into thedas; gradually, the gods find their way into the archdemons, and the death of each one is another chain falling off the black city. when all are killed, the blight's full force will invade the fade and thedas

ever since, it has been growing more powerful - infecting even lyrium, now. desperate to stop it, solas must turn around and face the weapon he used, stand between it and the world. there are two gods that remain (the ones we see in da4 concept art). when they are dead, the blight will ravage everything in its path.

this would explain why he loathes the wardens, why he tells them they're messing with things they can't understand. they're killing his keys. not that they have any choice - but they are, and it will eventually unleash the true power of the blight.