#he found them in the Fade then outmastered them

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Dirthamen

Dirthamen is the elven god of secrets and knowledge.

Dalish Legends

In Dalish stories Dirthamen and his twin brother Falon'Din are the eldest children of Elgar'nan and Mythal. Dirthamen gave to elves the gift of knowledge and taught them loyalty and faith in family.

Legends tell that the twins were inseparable spirits from birth to adulthood. They were parted when Falon'Din ventured beyond the Veil, to a place where his brother could not easily follow. Dirthamen wandered the grey paths of the Fade until he found and outmastered two ravens, Fear and Deceit. The ravens took him to Falon'Din, and the twins swore to never be parted again. Together they accompanied the elders who would enter uthenera and walk the shifting paths in search for the secrets of dreams. Dirthamen provided such elves with counsel.

In one tale Dirthamen gave each creature a secret, but only the bears kept it and therefore were honored by him.

Elves also tell that in the days before Arlathanthere was a city in the mountains. It was beloved by Dirthamen, who shared his wisdom with its people. When a high dragonattacked the city, Dirthamen created the first varterral from the fallen trees of the forest to serve as its eternal guardian.

The Dalish believe that Dirthamen was banished along with the other gods, and his city crumbled to dust. They bury their dead with a cedar branch to scatter his ravens who are now without a master.

In Elvhenan 

Dirthamen and Falon'Din were "twin souls" with no family connection. Their bond was not romantic, beyond even the strongest friendship. The oldest elven stories never even name them directly, referring to Falon'Din as "Dirthamen’s shadow," and Dirthamen as "Falon'Din's reflection."

The unnamed sinner who dared to fly in the shape of the divine belonged to Dirthamen.

Symbols and shrines

Dirthamen’s symbols are two ravens, a bear and a varterral. Dirthamen himself is sometimes depicted as a cloaked kneeling figure. Ancient glyphs scattered across the Exalted Plains reveal the location of the Lost Temple of Dirthamen.

[yolandiehorak]

I’ve never done this before, but here goes. :) I’ve found some possible evidence of the Old Gods and the Forgotten Ones being linked. We know that the Evanuris were spirits, or something akin to that. According to the wiki: ‘Solas, who is actually revealed to be Fen'Harel, states that the ancient elven gods were not really deities as the Maker is perceived, but rather very powerful beings. Whether they were mages or spirits or something else entirely unencountered and forgotten, Solas says they have a deep and powerful connection to the Fade, where they dwelled and spoke to the elves through various rituals performed in certain locations.’ We also know that the Forgotten Ones were the enemies of the Evanuris, the other side of the coin: ‘Where the Creators are gods of justice, knowledge and craft, who seek to guide and protect the elven people, the Forgotten Ones are a dark mirror presiding over the worst aspects of existence: disease, terror, spite and malevolence. [4]They serve not as shepherds of the elves, but rather as figures of fear and dread.’ Some theories go so far as to claim the Forgotten Ones couldn’t create, but I haven’t found any official proof of this, though I believe it. So, if the Creators were spirits, the Forgotten Ones were demons. Makes sense. It also strengthens the idea that the Forbidden Ones, demons, could be a part of this pantheon. Despite the popular belief that there are 8 Creators and 8 Forgotten Ones (with Solas as #9 in both pantheons), that’s unconfirmed. In fact, the wiki opposes this idea. ‘Legend suggests the Forgotten Ones were many, but even the names of most of them have been largely lost to time, making their title exceedingly appropriate.’ We have the names of 3 Forgotten and 4 Forbidden Ones. So, if my theory is correct, that puts us at 7 (discounting Solas for now). Forgotten:  Anaris (according to an old tale he was once tricked by Fen'Harel while duelling the Great Hunter Andruil[10])  Geldauran  Daern'thal Forbidden:  Gaxkang  Imshael  The Formless One  Xebenkeck There’s a codex entry called Geldauran’s Claim that goes like this: ‘The script is an ancient elven dialect. Upon further observation, it twists, the words becoming visible: There are no gods. There is only the subject and the object, the actor and the acted upon. Those with will to earn dominance over others gain title not by nature but by deed. I am Geldauran, and I refuse those who would exert will upon me. Let Andruil's bow crack, let June's fire grow cold. Let them build temples and lure the faithful with promises. Their pride will consume them, and I, forgotten, will claim power of my own, apart from them until I strike in mastery.’ So, he’s planning to strike back. We’ve been discussing Solas’s role in these pantheons for a while now and I think I know the answer, though I have no official proof of this. I reckon Solas was a demon, who chose to be a spirit, like Cole. That’s why he was OK in both pantheons and why he could banish both. He probably didn’t feel a particular alliance with either, but just wanted to help, like Cole. He *does* do a lot of helping throughout history, from freeing slaves to helping Andraste and the Inquisiton. Now, Mythal and Yavana were trying to SAVE the Old Gods. Also, if the Old Gods can be counted among the Forgotten Ones – folks who already hated the Evanuris before Solas banished them – they become instant allies to Mythal. It would also back the idea that she *needs* Solas to bring down the Veil, because it would free the Evanuris so the remaining Old Gods/Forgotten Ones can ‘shake the very heavens’ when they attack the Evanuris. And, knowing Mythal has knowledge of how to find the Void via Andruil (she absorbed Andruil's power), she can probably let the rest of the Forgotten Ones out once the problem of the Veil is solved. In fact, she might even be saving and raising dragons through Yavana so the Forgotten Ones have vessels to possess. This is just me, I have no proof on this account. I happened upon this codex entry from the Well of Sorrows: ‘This elven writing found in the Arbor Wilds is so old there seems to be no way to learn what it means. There are whispers from the Well of Sorrows. It's impossible to understand the entire text, but certain parts suddenly reveal a shadow of their original meaning. "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.’ He ‘dared to fly in the shape of the divine’. I believe this means one of the Forgotten Ones tried to mimic the shape the Evanuris could shift into, dragon. I know the codex says the sinner was one of Dirthamen’s followers, but there’s a story from his wiki page that could support this: ‘In Dalish stories Dirthamen and his twin brother Falon'Din are the eldest children of Elgar'nan and Mythal. Dirthamen gave to elves the gift of knowledge and taught them loyalty and faith in family.[1] Legends tell that the twins were inseparable spirits from birth to adulthood. They were parted when Falon'Din ventured beyond the Veil, to a place where his brother could not easily follow. Dirthamen wandered the grey paths of the Fade until he found and outmastered two ravens, Fear and Deceit. The ravens took him to Falon'Din, and the twins swore to never be parted again.’ Fear and Deceit sound like demon names, right? Dirthamen outsmarted them and they helped him find Falon’Din. That’s why I think they might have become his servants. We also know the Evanuris were power hungry from what Solas says, so Dirthamen might even knowingly have forced Fear or Deceit to take on the dragon form, so he could grow his own power or create a new weapon against the others. Like the Forgotten Ones, the Old Gods aren’t creators. ‘The true nature of the Old Gods is unknown. The Old Gods are not creators and even the people of ancient Tevinter attributed the creation of the world to the Maker, although by a different name.’ The Maker, by the way, might very well turn out to be this ‘Formless One’ who is a member of the Forbidden Ones. But that’s just a personal inkling. 😛 Additionally, none of the Old Gods have positive attributes. Their domains are fire, slavery, chaos, mystery and night. OK, Urthemiel’s beauty isn’t inherently good or evil, and the same can be said of Dumat’s silence. But then, Imshael’s choice falls in the same category, neither good nor evil, but rather twisted to what he wants it to be. So, this doesn’t sway me from this theory. 🙂 In fact, it could even be that the seven Old Gods are the twisted counterparts of the Evanuris. Elgar’nan had a quick temper and is said to have fought with fire, lightning and thunder. All the tales about him end in anger and violence, except where Mythal was able to calm him down. What if Dumat’s silence is a mockery of Elgar’nan’s tempestuous nature? Almost like indifference. And Urthemiel’s beauty could very well be a mockery of Ghilan’nain being trapped inside a halla. In fact, his constellation Bellitanus, is of a maiden, even if Urthemiel is male. This could be a coincidence, but it supports my theory so I’m keeping it. The same kinds of distortions can connect the other Evanuris and Old Gods. Then, the number thing. As I mentioned earlier, we know of 7 Forgotten Ones. Discounting Solas and Mythal, who has been out of play, we have 7 sealed Evanuris. Add the 7 Old Gods and we have a double ratio of Forgotten Ones to Evanuris. 7 is a sacred number in the Jewish faith, which is interesting, considering the developers based the elves on Jews. ‘The initial inspiration for the Dragon Age elves came from the Jewish people (lost homeland, ghettos).’ As a last point, the Gaider himself made this connection. ‘David Gaider hinted that the Old Gods could have been based on the elven gods or the Forgotten Ones, and that the second group had more reasons for that.[1]’